Both sides of the Border
by Shadow over Egypt
Summary: When you long for someone, wish for someone, pine for them with all your heart...can ANYTHING truly stand in your way? Especially on this, the most magical night of the year... [Halloweenbased, YY x SK, hints of YY x YB]
1. Sorcery

**Shadow: **I'm a lost cause. I swear – plot bunnies _breed_. _This _little ficlet _was _supposed to be a long one-shot – but it morphed somewhere along the way and grew – then promptly got chopped up into chapters. I'm not sure how many chapters there are actually, but I'm determined to get this all up for Halloween. The fic itself is Halloween-based – blame the season. Everywhere you look now in England it's _pumpkins. _

**_Warnings: _**Um…shonen-ai pairings (boy x boy) - mostly Prideshipping (YY x SK) but with hints of Darkshipping (YY x YB).Angst, and character death.

**_Disclaimer: _**I own nothing but a headache and this plot. Friends will testify in court.

Flashbacks and other thoughts are in _italics._

Thoughts that take place in italic sections are in **_bold italics._**

* * *

**Both sides of the border**

_**Sorcery**_

It was a dark night, as such nights always seemed to be, though those that saw it paid it little heed, for the same occurrence happened often in their world. Autumn was nearing its inevitable end, and the chill of winter was just beginning to set in, brittle leaves snapping underfoot with the crunching of the frost-laced grass.

It would be the first of November come midnight, marking the eve before as that of All Hallows – a sacred time since the ancients first gained their consciousness and began to honour those that had passed before. Halloween, the 'modern' world called it, ever since the introduction of monotheistic Christianity had replaced the pagan gods and consorts with their own pantheon of angels and saints, headed by the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Halloween was the name most knew; All Hallow's Eve; a time to drag out the costumes and take the children out to trick o' treat around the neighbourhood. To throw outlandish parties, wear clothes you'd never dare to on any other day, and eat too many sweets.

But the last day of October had not always been so commercialised. Before _Halloween, _before the night before the feast of 'All Saints', before sugar and pumpkins and parties and caps, before _all _of that…

There had been Samhain.

* * *

As an ancient spirit, one could say Yami Yugi had learned to adapt over the centuries – after all, it wasn't as if he hadn't of had plenty of time to come to terms with whatever chanced to come his way. His upbringing in a polytheistic society had left him understanding – or at _least _open-minded – to other religions, and the tales and traditions of other deities and subsequent cults had him fascinated. Only the atheists left him cool – it had to be _the _highest blasphemy in Egypt to believe in _no _god -, but he understood _why _some people chose to believe in no greater power – and he treated no person differently because of their beliefs. It had taken little time for him, once acquainted with the wonders of the twenty-first century, to realise there was enough grief and suffering in the world without his adding to it. So he was a rather peaceable sort, really.

Splitting from Yugi just over a year and a half back had given him the opportunity to develop a personality individual of his light, and there had been a wave of surprise when Yami had first appeared in a body separate from his hikari. Yugi had simply beamed at his friends, introducing Yami to them as his darker half – and to the rest of the world his cousin. Smart, pretty and popular, Yami had easily fitted into the modern world, and quickly earned himself what his aibou laughingly dubbed '_the fanclub'. _If by fanclub Yugi meant hordes of screaming females – and not a few males too – chasing him through Domino, he had pretty much got it in one.

Yami was an avid reader, and could often be found curled up on the sofa in the home he shared with his hikari and grandpa, nose buried in a book. Be it fact or fiction, novel, short story or article, you could bet Yami had read it. The former pharaoh was endlessly curious, and would rest at nothing till he knew everything there was to know about whatever held him fascinated at that current time. It was both one of his best traits and his worst, and at times his friends despaired of him because of it. Meetings had been forgotten, homework had been abandoned, and food had been burnt to a sacrificial crisp while Yami had lost himself in a book, ruby eyes looking upwards and blinking cutely when exasperated friends and family dragged him back into the world of reality. He just…didn't _get _it.

It was through his hopeless addiction to knowledge Yami had encountered the commercial holiday that was Halloween. The appearance of wickedly grinning jack o' lanterns in the neighbourhood when October came around baffled him, and the cobwebs dangling everywhere left him mystified – if not a tad annoyed when they insistently stuck to his hair and simply _refused _to come out. Yugi had tried to explain to him the need for all the lurid decorations and outfits, but had been unable to answer all of his darker half's questions sufficiently. So, as to be expected, Yami did some research.

By the time October 29th had arrived the royal spirit knew possibly everything there _was _to know about Halloween, and as much as he could find about Samhain – the _original _Celtic festival it had been based upon. Content, Yami had happily set about celebrating his first Halloween – and thoroughly annoyed all of Yugi-tachi by abundantly decorating the Kame Game Shop – and them – with lanterns, streamers, cobwebs and as much other Halloween paraphernalia he could buy. Joey, Tea, Ryou and Tristan had become accustomed to checking for Yami before settling down anywhere – the pharaoh had taken great pleasure in springing surprises upon them at every possible opportunity – the last one had resulted in Joey and Tristan getting soaked with a bucketful of water. Still, however hard they tried, they could not avoid _all _of their friend's ministrations. Said friend being a kick-ass three-thousand-odd year old pharaoh with the ability to summon and disperse the Shadow Realm at a whim _not _helping in the slightest, of course. So, in the tradition of all friendships, Yugi-tachi were determined to get him back.

Kaiba Mokuba's masked Halloween party was the _perfect _time to do so.

Yami, to put it bluntly, _hated _parties. It wasn't that he was antisocial – quite the opposite in fact, Yami _loved _being around people -, he just _hated _large gatherings and crowds; more often than not he'd develop a few girls hanging onto him – once or twice some of them had even progressed to latching themselves around his waist and refusing to let go until literally separated from _'their one true great love_' with a crowbar. Of course, Yugi, Joey and Tristan had fallen about laughing. Ryou had quickly pulled Bakura out of the way of Yami's wrath – the tomb-robber's jibes had been getting even _too much _for the pharaoh -, and Mokuba had stared with wide eyes at the entire scene after scolding his big brother for tormenting the blushing Yami so.

Normally, Yami would have avoided the party, reluctant to end up in that sort of situation again. _Normally. _If he had heard anything _about _the party he would have adopted one of the twenty-first century's favourite expressions and 'ran for the hills' as fast as his legs could possibly take him. (And that was quite fast, actually.) But, with a skill even the duped spirit had to admire at a later date, Yugi cheerfully manipulated all and sundry to make sure his dark was kept in complete ignorance of any sort of festivity he would be required to attend. Right up until six 'o' clock on October the 31st, with the party being due to start in an hour and a half.

Easy to say, Yami had _not _been best pleased.

Pleaded with, blackmailed, coerced and cajoled, Yami had changed into the costume his hikari had found for him, grumbling and muttering death threats all the while. Yugi had ignored all threats against his person, knowing fine _well _his other half wouldn't carry any of them out, merely smirking in an extremely un-Yugi-like fashion and making sure Yami didn't try to escape before they could get to the Kaiba mansion, where Mokuba had demanded his brother to let the party be held. (Seto was still suffering slight shock and could then apparently be found wandering around asking the ceiling '_Why me?'_) The party itself had been dubbed a 'masked ball'; you did not necessarily have to go _as _anything, but you had to be wearing a costume of some sort, or clothes different from your norm. Masks, of course, were necessary.

Yugi had managed to find an all-black outfit for his yami, well aware it was probably his darker half's favourite colour (if the large majority of Yami's wardrobe had anything to say about it, at least). When wearing it, nearly every inch of the former pharaoh's skin had been covered, midnight-cloth fitting his slender form like a second skin. A long cloak of the same shade was tied around Yami's throat, clipped in place with a golden brooch depicting a coiled snake, rubies the same hue as the cloak's lining winking in the light. Half an hour's battling had succeeded in tying back the spirit's spiky hair in a ponytail, and a soft scarf hid the tell-tale strands of crimson, ebony and gold. The required mask had covered half of Yami's face, tiny golden stars sewn into the silky material catching what little light there was and glittering attractively. But that had been last year.

And Halloween had come around again…

* * *

The Kaiba mansion was a large place, and had grounds to match. Yami enjoyed wandering the vast gardens, and had quickly found peace in the silence within the mansion's four walls. Not that later events hadn't helped in his liking for the place of course.

The moon hadn't quite properly risen yet, the evening before the night still very much in progress. Yami's breath left his mouth as a fine mist, his cold hands wrapped firmly around his slight frame in an effort to coax some heat back into his skin. He stood beside the small lake in the Kaiba mansion's gardens – a pretty spot made even prettier by nightfall and the stars faint reflections on it's waters. The year before he had attended a party in the house just visible through trees shielding the lake, and everywhere had been full of life and light.

No-one had really felt like a party this year.

* * *

"_Oh Yami…lighten up!"_

_Startled out of their internal reverie, crimson eyes swivelled from where they had been vacantly staring into space for at least a good half hour and to the exasperated form of their owner's aibou, who regarded them back with an air of frustration. _

"_Hikari?" A note of surprise echoed in the pharaoh's voice. "What troubles you?"_

"_**You!" **Yugi grabbed his darkness' hands, clearly put out. "You're obviously not having **any **fun; everyone feels really guilty!"_

_Taken aback, Yami blinked. "…They do?"_

"_I…well no." Yugi bit his lip. "But I'm sure they would, if they recognised you!" He added fiercely. _

_His other half couldn't help it – he laughed. Yugi quickly joined in, suddenly realising how daft his comments must have seemed. Then he stopped, placing a hand on his other's arm._

"_No, Yami, **seriously. **I know you're not all that fond of parties, but no-one recognises you here! You're just this really cute…**person **in the corner!"_

"…'_Person'?" A slim eyebrow rose for the Heavens. _

"_It's a little hard to tell whether you're a girl or not in this light…" Yugi grinned, ducking quickly out of the way when Yami tried to elbow him in the side. "Hey, don't blame **me**! **I'm **only the messenger…"_

_Yami halted his assault. "…What?"_

"_As I said." Yugi's grin had rapidly changed to a smug smirk. "**I'm **only the messenger."_

"_Who from?"_

_Amethyst eyes widened. "My God…Yami, you really **haven't **been paying any attention, have you?"_

"_Umm…"_

"_I'll take that as a 'no'." Yugi smiled, his irrepressibly sunshine nature shining through once more. He giggled, nodding his head slightly across the room. Yami, curious, followed his gaze._

_Standing leaning against the far wall, across the vast gulf of people packed into the mansion, stood a solitary figure. Dressed in a long, glittering outfit of white he – for it was clearly a he – stood out by a mile, his height allowing him to be seen above the crowds filling the room. Even with his face covered by a mask Yami easily identified him – who else had eyes that **blue? **_

"…_Kaiba…?" A wondering gaze was turned on Yugi. "You can't be serious. **He's **been looking at me?"_

_His hikari nodded brightly. "He has – though to be fair, mon hitorou no boku, **everyone's **been looking at you." A coquettish bat of lashes. "I think he **likes **you…" _

Yami had escaped the room under the knowing eyes of his aibou, cheeks burning. Yugi _knew _he'd liked Seto Kaiba for a while, and had been urging him to say something to the tall brunette. He'd been bewitched by the elder's pride and manner, blue eyes trapping him like a butterfly against a glass pane.

And then? Being told Kaiba had been glancing his way all that evening? Yami had to run, simply to try and cool his dark red cheeks in the outside air. He had been flushed, dizzy and embarrassed. Hopeful too, and not more than a little smug. _The _Seto Kaiba, interested in _him?_

_Yami leant against a tree, letting out a loud sigh of relief. What he was actually relieved **about **was beyond him, but it was nice to be outside in the fresh air, especially as he'd chosen to rest beside the lake in the mansion's grounds – which looked extraordinarily lovely that night. Feeling a little constricted by his clothes he rolled his sleeves up, pulling the scarf away from his head and dangling it loosely with one hand. Gods above, why had he **ran **from the party? Surely he could have done the more sensible thing and at least chosen to **walk? **Another sigh, and Yami leant back against the tree once more, closing his eyes as he tried to regain his breath. _

'_**Gods…'**_

"_A mask upon a mask…" Slender fingers traced the outline of his face, soft pads grazing his lips slightly before dropping away, "a conundrum."_

_Yami jumped and would have slipped and fallen, had not strong hands caught his forearms, dragging him into a tall body to hold him steady. _

"_Whoa…" The same voice that had startled him so before was whispered in his ear, smooth tones laced with amusement. "No need to **kill **yourself, Mouto."_

_Blushing furiously Yami withdrew himself from the body that held him, already knowing full well who it was._

"_Are you following me or something?" _

_Kaiba smiled dryly, taking the white mask he wore off of his face, noting his companion's flushed cheeks and annoyed voice. "Would it bother you if I was?" _

"_I-er-**um**." Words failed Yami, his face darkening even **further. **"I…guess not…? But…you weren't supposed to follow me!"_

_Blue eyes warmed slightly, the amusement that had been present in the CEO's voice beforehand now evident in his eyes. "Forgive me. What **was **I supposed to do?" _

"_You weren't supposed to do anything!"_

"_Why not?"_

"_You're not allowed to!"_

"_So, let me get this straight." Kaiba's face was rapidly developing it's tell-tale smirk. "At **my **party in **my **house…I'm not **allowed **to do anything?"_

'_**Sweet Nut kill me now…' **"Uh…"_

_Seto laughed, drawing curious eyes once more to his face. "Forget it. Why don't you take your mask off? It has to be uncomfortable."_

_Yami protested. "It's a masked ball! I'm **meant **to wear a mask!"_

"_But I've taken mine off."_

"_That doesn't mean I need to remove mine."_

"_You have a pretty face. Why hide it from view?"_

Kaiba had eventually coaxed him into removing the mask – then batted his hands away before he could do it.

"_Let me."_

"_Kaiba, don't be ridiculous. It's **my **mask."_

"_Let. **Me."**_

Less of a request and more of an order. Not that Yami had really complained anyway. Why would he? He liked Kaiba and the brunette had been so _gentle…_

_Nimble fingers worked the cord tying the mask to his face, Yami's breath coming quicker at his companion's close proximity to him. The fibre seemed to have become tangled up into a knot of some sort – Kaiba was grumbling under his breath. _

_Eventually though, it came loose, and a black strip of material was dangled triumphantly in the pharaoh's face._

"_**There."**_

_Yami had to resist the urge to laugh. "Do you realise how childish you look?"_

_Kaiba huffed. "Do you realise how damned hard that thing was to get undone?"_

"_Fair point." A bright smile, the mask taken and stuffed into a handy pocket. "Aibou first tied it on for me – **I **had this party, and the outfit, sprung on me about two hours ago."_

"_Then I must say, it was an outfit remarkably well-sprung."_

_Yami blushed again._

Kaiba had still been close to him, he could recall; the brunette hadn't moved away after untying the mask from his face. The memory made him smile as he stared idly at the lake's waters, remembering the year before when he'd been in exactly the same place, but had been occupied by a totally different thing entirely…

'**_Kaiba's _hand_ is on my_ _arm.' _**

_And the brunette didn't seem all that keen on **removing **it..._

_Yami was sure Kaiba could hear his heart pounding – dammit, he was surprised half of **Japan **couldn't hear it! Yet the CEO seemed oblivious…_

_Idle patterns were drawn down one arm, feather-light brushes tickling the golden skin. "You know…the origins of mask and costume-wearing lie in the old folklore that on the night of All Hallow's, evil spirits and faeries roam." _

"_Oh?" Yami fought to keep his expression neutral; the other's touch was sending tingles of pleasure racing throughout his entire body._

"_Yes, **oh**." A shadowy smile was shot his way, dark eyes regarding him with an almost feline amusement. "Samhain is the night when the worlds **bleed** into one another, and the borders between life and death simply fall away. Costumes were worn to deceive the spirits, as it was thought the fey creatures would 'steal' a beautiful mortal they desired, and call them to death before their time…" A pregnant pause. "Make sure your costume's a good one this year, Yami."_

"_And why's that?" The Egyptian spirit found himself unable to move, unable to **think** clearly with his gaze locked by impossibly dark, **dark** blue. _

_Warm breath against his ear, the sudden heat sending shivers down his spine. "…I'm not **quite** willing to relinquish you to the faeries yet...though I guess I could always just steal you **first**…" _

"'_Steal me first'?" Yami couldn't help the quirk of amusement at the corners of his lips. "And how, my would-be captor, do you intend to do that? Despite my size, I am not so easily carried away."_

_A low chuckle was his reward. "You would not willingly be stolen? A pity…perhaps I could change your mind." _

_Lips trailed over his skin, moving upwards to place a soft kiss upon his lips. A gentle touch – the first kiss he could remember in a long time and no less worthy for the wait. It took little for thought to flee Yami's mind, and even less for him to wrap his arms around Kaiba's neck, dragging the other's head down to a more comfortable height, eyes slipping closed. They were lost then, both of them, the night wrapping velvety arms around the couple, the falling autumn leaves a whisper that cloaked the soft words and cries, stealing the light from fey lanterns and whisking it away to a land of half-hidden dreams and desires._

Now, looking back, with the lonely comfort of the far-away stars, Yami realised that was where most of his pain had begun.


	2. Witchcraft

**Shadow: **_Heey…_42 hits in one day and a bit. People are _reading _this! (pokes) Some of you could do with reviewing though; I offer cookies to those that figure out my plot. I'm writing this day-by-day – 'tis a first for me. Now, if only I could motivate myself to do this for my other fics… Thankies to _Iridescent Hope_ and _shining-tears_ for reviewing.

**_Warnings: _**Shonen-ai pairings (boy x boy) - mostly Prideshipping (YY x SK) but with hints of Darkshipping (YY x YB).Angst, and character death.

**_Disclaimer: _**If I owned YuGiOh everyone would have their own pet bishie from the show. As it is, everyone does _not _have their own pet bishie and the world is sorely disappointed. Ah, well…

Flashbacks and other thoughts are in _italics._

Thoughts that take place in italic sections are in **_bold italics.

* * *

_**

**Both sides of the border**

_**Witchcraft**_

Falling in love isn't a hard thing to do.

It could happen in a look, a single glance; a casual smile tossed your way in gratitude for a favour well-received. In a brush of fingertips, when passing over a pen, tingles of electricity sparking nerve ends and raising eyes to look shyly at a face that matched your own. When you saw yourself, mirrored in someone's heart, even though till that day you'd _loathed _that person. Love and hate were the same obsession really, and it took little to cross the border from one emotion to the other.

No, falling in love isn't hard. It's the falling _out _of love that causes the problem…

* * *

Why was it so cold? The night was cloudless, and the darkness of the night sky only enhanced the pinpricks of light far, far above him. Hadn't Yugi once taught him something about clouds and temperature? He couldn't remember. Certain thoughts grew hazy after a while; few things remained crystal clear in his memory. How many little details had he forgotten over the years? Seemingly insignificant scraps of data at the time, but after a while it all built up, tiny holes growing quickly to vast gulfs in terms of his recollection. It was hard to tell sometimes: whether he truly remembered something or his mind had just made it up. It did that sometimes, bent reality and conception and created visions of times that never were. Or did it? He never really could be sure…

Yami shivered, stuffing his hands inside his jacket's pockets in an effort to keep warm. Something poked at his intrusive fingers, slim digits pulling out a strange item crammed there for crimson eyes to stare at, bemused.

_Oh, _he'd forgotten. But…_how? _True, his thoughts had been wandering more as of late, his emotions a mess, but _how, _in the love of all the great deities, could he have forgotten _this?

* * *

_

"_He **what?"**_

_Yami smiled happily at the stunned form of his light, gently taking the other's hands in his own. "He wants me to move in with him, aibou. At the mansion. May I?"_

_Yugi managed to close his jaw from where it had been suspended – somewhere about floor height. He waved off his yami's question. "Of course you may! What are you asking **me **for? It's just…you've only been **dating **the guy for about a **month!"**_

_His other half smiled dreamily. "It feels like I've known him for forever."_

"_Well technically-" The hikari halted, seeing Yami wasn't really paying that much attention. The former pharaoh's eyes had a glazed, absent-minded look, and Yugi had to grin. "Oh, mon hitoru no boku…you've got it **baaaad."

* * *

**_

A frown crossed fair features as Yami surveyed the damage he'd done, and he vainly tried to smooth out the creases made after he'd been so thoughtless earlier.

'_I hope it still floats…'_

A few quick steps and he stood directly beside the lake he'd watched most of that evening, a few seconds more and he was crouched at its side, carefully laying his precious item on the rippling waters. The lake was fed by freshwater streams from the hills – Seto had explained it to him once -, and had a slight current. Not enough of one here, in the shallows, but enough further out for his purposes. Another digging around in Yami's pockets produced more results, a triumphant smile flickering onto the spirit's face as he set about his task.

Silver metal winked in the moonlight, gleaming off a polished knife Yami used to inscribe a white candle he'd found. The soft wax parted easily at the touch of the wicked blade, delicately etched runes coming to life beneath an artist's fingers. Years of writing intricate hieroglyphs had prepared Yami well for his job.

_Aslaich_

_Aimsir aimhreidh_

_Aslaich _

_Ath-bheothaich annsachd eadarainn_

_Aonaichainn bith-bhuan_

_Bacadh bàs_

_Anail, anam, eihwaz, annsachd_

And then? A name, more precious to him than the world itself.

_Seto.

* * *

_

"_Yami." Someone shook his shoulder. "Yami, love, wake up."_

"_Unh…" A sleepy grumble, slim frame digging further under cosy blankets._

"_**Yami."**_

_Crimson eyes opened balefully, fixing a drowsy glare on blue. "Kaiba Seto, if there isn't a **damn **good reason for waking me up at this ungodly hour I'm going to **kill **you."_

_The brunette only smiled, leaning over to place a soft kiss on his lover's forehead. "Good morning sweetheart, and a merry Christmas to you too."_

_Yami yelped. "**Christmas?" **He was sitting up in bed immediately, all thoughts of sleep gone. **'Damn it, damn it, damn it, **_**damn _it!' _**_How could he have forgotten? Okay, he'd left Seto's gift…**agh! **Where had he left Seto's gift?_

"_Yami." Gentle hands were laid atop his own, calming him. "There's no need to panic. **Really."**_

_The former pharaoh blushed, looking up into Kaiba's face. "…I've put your gift somewhere and I can't remember where."_

"_It's under the tree, love. You put it there last night." The brunette was laughing at him, he was **sure **of it. _

"_Well-"_

_A slim finger to his lips cut off his words, arms winding about his waist and pulling him into a deliciously warm body. "Hush a little while. I want to give you your present first."_

"_But you said-"_

"_No presents till after eight, I **know." **Kaiba's voice was dry. "I haven't forgotten, I assure you."_

"_Then won't Mokuba…?"_

_A catlike smile. "Mokuba already **knows **about this one."_

'_**Oh…'**_

_A brightly coloured box was dangled in front of his face. Slightly apprehensive Yami took it, though not before shooting a curious look at his lover from under his lashes. Kaiba merely smiled his smile and leant his head on the other's shoulder, warm breath tickling the former pharaoh's skin and sending his golden bangs dancing. _

_Ribbons were quickly undone, and paper carefully removed – exposing a small, velvet box. Inside lay a necklace – a platinum cartouche hung on a delicate chain. In some respects it looked a lot like the one Tea had first given Yami when he had first been searching for his true name – but on closer inspection it was so, so different. True, 'Atemu' was inscribed upon the metal in fine hieroglyphics, but on turning the platinum around the name 'Seth' too was revealed, carved with the same care in the same tongue. Both were intertwined by the etching of a rope tied in a loop – the symbol of forevermore. Tea's gift to Yami had been a symbol of their friendship; Seto's was a symbol of his love._

_Yami swallowed. "Mery-i-"_

"_Shh…" Gentle kisses were placed on the nape of his neck._

"_Seto-" The ruby-eyed spirit tilted his head slightly, locking gazes with his boyfriend. "Seto Kaiba…I love you."_

_Eyes the colour of sapphires warmed.

* * *

_

The candle was finished. Carefully, Yami set it afloat upon the boat he'd made before, striking a match to set the wick aflame. The match was a splash of brilliance in the darkness, the candle a warm glow to chase away the shadows of his world.

'_One last thing to do…'_

The knife he'd used before was scraped clean of wax, sharp eyes studying the even sharper blade for dirt or imperfection. Then, finding none, a quick jab and a wince of pain-

Three droplets of blood hit the white of the paper boat.

It was done. His finger stinging now, Yami hastily cleaned his blade, sheathing and dropping it by the lakeside. The candle flickered slightly as the royal spirit pushed the boat out and Yami held his breath, afraid the flame would die, but the glow soon steadied again, and the former pharaoh resumed his task.

The current soon took his little boat, ripples causing the delicate craft to bob on nigh-invisible waves. The light of his candle grew dimmer the longer he watched it, receding into the growing night as the waters bore it away, a speck of light in an ever-darkening world.

* * *

_Halloween had some curious customs, Yami had to admit. Trick or treating? Parties? Pumpkins? His aibou's delight at the whole fiasco was rather infectious. Not that he **personally **wasn't having any fun this year **either…**_

_This time it was apples. Yugi **insisted **on apples, even though there wasn't going to be an actual party that night. Though Yugi had been rather ambiguous as of late…_

_But yes – **apples. **Well, ducking for apples, to be precise. Yugi had a thing for tradition, and Yami had a thing for peace and quiet to enjoy his books. Simply put – if Yami didn't help Yugi, Yami wasn't going to **get **any of said peace and quiet._

_But there was one tradition that **fascinated **him…_

_Yami was supposed to be washing apples, drying them and placing them in a bowl. But he'd gotten distracted as something he'd read surfaced in his mind. And so there he was, **peeling **an apple, and attempting not to break the peel as he did so. After about five attempts (and five hastily munched apple cores had been hidden in the rubbish bin – Yugi would have a **fit **if he thought his darker half had eaten his precious fruit) Yami succeeded, smiling happily – and not more than a little smugly – at an unbroken peel in his hand. _

_He threw it over his shoulder._

_To Yami's disappointment the peel only fell in a squiggle shape – a weirdly curving snake crawling horizontally across the floor. Which, when he moved around to pick it up, looked like an 'S'. _

_Colour flooded Yami's cheeks. Amazing what a change of angle could do, really.

* * *

_

The light had practically gone. The moon had still not yet completely risen, and the night was as cold and bleak as it had ever been. Really, why was he expecting change?

Yami stood with a sigh, hands finding their way into his pockets once more.

A crunch of leaves caught his attention, the crackle of frost-laced grass loud in the otherwise perfectly silent dark. A silhouette in the shadows, a moving darkness, and the silver glow as moonlight illuminated fallen snow. A lithe body, cloaked in midnight, crunching footsteps bringing him to Yami's side.

Brown eyes fixed upon the last light the candle shed upon the lake's waters before finally disappearing for good. Then, they turned back to Yami.

A sigh.

"You still miss him then?"


	3. Necromancy

**Shadow: **(crickets chirp) There are people out there; I _know _it. (mock-glare) I can hear you _breathing. _(laughs) I'm being weird again… Anyways, someone – well, _me – _has just put a spanner in the works for getting this all done for Halloween. I've just discovered a pile of Art and English stuff I've got to get done for Monday which, sadly, takes priority over writing. (I know, it sucks.) That, and I'm going to a party on Halloween itself so… (loud sighs) This probably won't be finished for Halloween, but it'll be done roundabout then – not more than a week into November, at the most.

**_Warnings: _**Shonen-ai pairings (boy x boy) - mostly Prideshipping (YY x SK) but with hints of Darkshipping (YY x YB).Angst, and character death.

**_Disclaimer: _**(searches pockets) Okay…we have a tissue, fifty pence, and a mint cream. That's it, I'm afraid.

Flashbacks and other thoughts are in _italics._

Thoughts that take place in italic sections are in **_bold italics._**

The other language I used in the last chapter? (Yami's inscriptions.) It was Gaelic.

* * *

**Both sides of the border**

_**Necromancy**_

Company was such an _odd _thing.

Many people longed for company, for the presence of friends and the daily chatter of cheerful nonsense to supplicate them through the day. People longed for family to talk to, to share worries with and to bicker over meaningless issues that had occurred in their lives or on television. People longed for lovers: for boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives and fiancés. Human nature _required _people. How else would poor suffering mortals get on in their meaningless little lives? Companionship created the assumption that everyone had someone, and the world was at peace. It was truly amazing to look at. Over sixty billion people - an entire _planet - lying _to themselves. Because a lie was so much better than the truth, wasn't it? Nobody wanted to recognise the truth. Why should they? The truth was _big _and _mean _and _nasty. _It was so much easier to stay swaddled in mother's blankets, cocooned from the horrible reality of things out there. The truth?

When you were without company, you were _alone_.

* * *

Yami appreciated peace, and he appreciated quiet. He liked being left alone at times, to think and to brood. He _disliked _interruptions, and he _hated _them in the form they'd come to him for a good few months.

It was the _indignity _of the matter.

Or perhaps it was just Bakura…?

"_You still miss him then?"_

Every syllable of that question jarred his every nerves, each word a crimson slash into his core. He was angry, he was upset, and _damn _Bakura for disturbing him again. Why should he answer? The tomb-robber knew his answer well enough…

Brown eyes watched him silently.

* * *

"_Hey, nii-san! Wait up!" _

_Seto Kaiba turned, a slight smile on his usually impassive face, watching his little brother race towards him over a bank of just-blooming daffodils. The younger boy reached him, leaning against his side and gasping for breath having run so fast._

"_Mokuba…" lips quirked slightly higher in amusement, "you've wrecked the daffodils."_

"_I have?" Blue-grey eyes glanced up, youthful cheeks flushing faintly pink. "Ah…oops?" _

_His older brother rolled his own eyes at the comment, idly ruffling Mokuba's raven-black hair. "Don't worry about it. If someone asks, I'll pay for it. Though next time, otouto-kun, use the footpath?"_

_Mokuba's blush darkened a little, but he nodded earnestly. The two brothers started walking again – and it wasn't long before the questions started._

"_Nii-san, have you really found one you're happy with?"_

"_Yes."_

"_But you've been looking for **weeks!"**_

_A faint smile. "All the better for having found one then, no?"_

"_Do you think Yami will like it?"_

"_I hope so."_

"_I'm sure he'll **love **it." This was said with a bright smile. "When are you going to…ah…'show' it to him?"_

"_When I think the time's right."_

_A disapproving frown. "But that could be **anytime…!"**_

"_**Exactly."**_

_Mokuba sighed and shook his head.

* * *

_

"You're an idiot."

Just like that. No warning, no sucking in of breath before speech, no meaningful glances before launching into a long dissertation. Just Bakura staring at the lake, utterly silent, then:

"You're an idiot."

But then, that was Bakura all over. The all-knowledgeable Bakura who knew everything about everyone else's damn business and how they should deal with it.

Yami had heard the tomb-robber's words before – the albino really _did _have to get a new speech set up. It was becoming dull, and in the situation _Yami _was stuck in, he _honestly _didn't want to hear it many more times. He didn't want to hear it at all, in fact, but when had that ever bothered Bakura?

Yami sighed, deliberately ignoring his companion.

The other yami refused to take the hint. "You wear no mask, nor do you wear a costume. You are simply dressed and unadorned, and your distress can be heard on all plains of being. You call to spirits on the night of Samhain, and you give yourself no guarding. Do you wish to be stolen away?"

He couldn't ignore _that…_

Narrowed eyes of ruby met brown. Soft, pointed words fell into the night air.

"I may be an idiot Bakura, but you are a fool."

* * *

"_Is that it?" Mokuba's eyes were as wide as saucers._

_Kaiba nodded nervously – or as close to it as he could manage. "Yeah, that's it."_

"_**Wow…." **_

_The brunette bit his lip. "So you like it?"_

_A stunned gaze looked up at him. "**Like **it?" Mokuba sounded incredulous. "Seto, it's **gorgeous! **_**I **_love it, and Yami will too!" The youth seemed positively hyped. "Nii-san, **I'd **marry you if you gave me this ring!"_

_Kaiba pulled a face, hastily closing the ring-box and hiding the item of discussion from display. "Don't tell Yami."_

_Mokuba looked indignant. "What do you take me for?"_

"_My little brother that is all too keen to get a brother-in-law."_

_The raven-haired teenager had the grace to look abashed.

* * *

_

Bakura had never yelled at him for a long while. It had been a little unnerving at first, to have your eternal rival who _always _yelled _not _yell, but everything had been a little…off-skew around that point too. He'd been dealing with fresh loss then, and Bakura had just been _there. _Like he'd _always _just been there. In all his un-yelling Bakura-ness.

Bakura had started by treating him like porcelain, a delicate object that could be easily smashed on the stone floor of reality.

Yami guessed he could be made of porcelain - in a way.

Bakura kept trying to _help _him, and Yami didn't want Bakura's help. And so the former thief talked to him, always calmly, always quietly, and Yami snapped back. He couldn't help himself – not where the albino was concerned.

Because the tomb robber was _different._

Bakura always had had more of an affinity with death and what lay beyond than anyone else, his hikari too. Ryou drew power from the occult, what many termed as the darker side to magic, from the spirit world that resided on the other side of the border between life and death. Bakura, coming before him and later becoming _part _of him, took that one step further.

Death and its laws seemed to hold no sway over the ancient spirit; a lifetime plundering from those passed on making him impervious to the shadowy scythe and hourglass that marked a mortal's time. If the just truly went on to an eternal Heaven when they died Bakura was surely one of the damned doomed to Hell, but the sharp-eyed albino only mocked his title and damned damnation in such a manner as to hold others in awe. Countless times had he been banished, killed, murdered and destroyed, and still he always came back. The great border that so many feared was but a simple step to him, the one-sided impenetrable wall in his presence possessing a gilded gate.

It made Yami angry, that a one so dark with sin should be given such a boon.

And it made him even _angrier _when brown eyes saw his rage and sorrow, and _pitied _him for it.

A quiet question. "When are you just going to move on?"

Yami's jaw clenched. "_When will you stop telling me what to **do?"**_

"It was a question, Yami, nothing more." Bakura's utter calm made him long to punch the pale spirit.

"Well _stop **asking **it!"

* * *

_

"_Remind me again…**why **are we doing this?"_

_A humph, Yugi regarding him with exasperation. "Because it's **customary, **oh Pharaoh mine."_

_Yami rolled his eyes. "If you say so…" He dumped his load of pumpkins on the bench with a sigh. A few moments silence… "So, what do we put on them?"_

_His hikari smiled. "Whatever we like, really. People usually do faces though…"_

"_Right." A hand was outstretched-_

"_Not **yet, **Yami!" Yugi hastily pulled the pumpkins out of his darker half's reach. "We've got to clean and empty them first!"_

"'_Empty'…?"_

"_Cut their tops off and scoop out their insides."_

_The former pharaoh pulled a face. "But their insides are **sticky."**_

"_Uh-huh." A bright smile. "It makes great ammunition though." Yami **looked **at his aibou, and the teen wrinkled his nose. "What?"_

_Yami's lips quirked upwards into a slight smile. "You're a strange one, you know that, chibi ichi?"_

"_Hey, I'm **your **reincarnation."

* * *

_

A long period of silence took them, nothing moving in the still evening. A quiet Halloween, one could be led to believe – at least, if they didn't listen to the stories…

"The Yami I knew was never selfish." Bakura was still picking away at things.

Irritable, Yami turned on him, acid words slipping from his tongue. "Did you ever know me at _all?"_

Oh, _hurt_. He'd struck a nerve there – and meant to. Yami _knew _why Bakura insisted on talking to him like this – he just didn't return the sentiment. And the albino seemed to be constantly hurt by his replies. Yami had just assumed he'd gotten used to them over time. Why the white-haired teen kept coming back time and time again was beyond him. But he _did _always come back…surely that was at least worth kinder words?

A small trace of guilt began to nag at Yami.

"Bakura…"

The thief looked at him.

"Bakura, _please. _Let me be."

* * *

"_Yami?" A frown crossed Kaiba's face as he opened the door to the bedroom he shared with his lover. "Yami, where the hell are you?" _

_The brunette was beginning to get worried. He'd checked almost everywhere in the mansion for Yami – where had the crimson-eyed spirit disappeared to? The slender youth **always **left a note or a message on his mobile if he was heading out somewhere and-_

'_**Ah…' **Crossing the downstairs hallway had answered his question. _

_Just visible through the window of the hall was a sakura tree, pink blossoms in full bloom. It was a gorgeous view in late spring, and the sight of the blossoms did much to alleviate Kaiba's fears. _

_Yami lay under the tree, lithe body languidly sprawled out on a carpet of rose-coloured petals. The former pharaoh seemed to be sleeping, the shade offered to him by cherry blossoms protecting him from the sun's harsh glare. A fallen book lying beside the dormant spirit suggested Yami's reason for being outside in the first place._

"_Yami…" Kaiba was outside as quickly as possible, his soft words enough to waken his quiescent lover._

"_Seto?" Yami sat up rather drowsily, sleepy expression turning to a smile as his companion took a seat on the grass beside him, leaning forwards to give him a chaste kiss. "I'm sorry, I think I must have just…"_

"_-Dropped off?" Pale hands idly brushed a pink petal out of spiky hair. "I guessed as much. I've been looking all over the mansion for you."_

"_**Oh…" **Tanned cheeks flushed rose. "I hope you didn't fire someone on my behalf?"_

_A laugh, arms reaching out to drag Yami closer so their owner could nuzzle the smooth skin of the royal spirit's neck. "Don't worry; I didn't. I was pretty close to it – but I spotted you out here first." A comfortable silence, Kaiba inhaling the exotic scent of his lover and feeling properly relaxed for the first time that day. "What were you **doing **out here anyway?"_

"_Reading." The discarded book was waved at him. "It was a really pretty day so I thought I'd read outside for a change –'sides, haven't you noticed how nice it is out here?"_

_Obediently, blue eyes looked up to take in their surroundings. _

_The sky was a perfect blue, fluffy cotton-wool clouds floating about as the breeze took them. The grass was a lush, emerald green, and everywhere was golden with the light of the afternoon sun. Birds sang, flowers grew, and Kaiba was **sure **he had seen some rabbits frolicking about earlier. _

'_**Walt Disney, eat your heart out.'**_

_The brunette nodded. "It's very nice."_

_Yami looked mock-reproving. "I've never seen anything so lovely."_

"_Well you see…" Kaiba ducked his head, a quiet whisper against the monarch's ear, "I have." His smile was enough to confirm **exactly **what he meant. _

_Yami blushed again, and batted his boyfriend with the book.

* * *

_

Another silence. Yami grew sick of silence. He tired of cold, of loneliness and despair. Yet he tired of company too, because company only reaffirmed the bleakness before and after words were spoken, the quiet before birth and after death.

What was there left to exist for? The gods took pleasure in his anguish – hadn't that always been so? One by one his dreams were realised, and like the ever-shifting sands of Egypt, the same dreams trickled away.

Time was all-encompassing, and darkness consumed time. Only the celestial bodies, the moon, the sun and the smaller stars, stood constant. Yet…wouldn't the sun fade one day, the stars too? For the sun was simply the closest star – a burning ball of gas, he had been informed. In the far, far future the sun would explode, and all life in the galaxy would die along with it.

Yami wondered whether he would still be around when that happened.

If he was…what would be left to give light? To give hope? It was a dreary outlook, but a long-explored one. Nothing in existence was constant, and only a fool would believe something was.

"What can you see?" A whisper interrupted Yami's thoughts, a shifting in the person beside him.

The pharaoh frowned. "What?"

Bakura nodded a head at the lake. "When you look into the waters…what can you see?"

"I-"

'_I don't know.'_

Hesitantly Yami knelt down again, feeling the slight dampness of the ground through his trousers. A golden bang was tucked behind his ear, ruby eyes slightly unfocused as they gazed upon the still shallows.

_The moon…_

The moon had nearly risen completely – it was a full moon that night. The irony of it struck Yami as he gazed upon the silver orb – a full moon on Halloween; how stereotypical could you get?

Yet, gazing past the moon…

_A handsome face with fair skin, cinnamon hair falling into eyes of a bright, **piercing **blue…_

The former pharaoh let out a soft cry, hand raised to cover his mouth. Oh, he _ached-_

The picture began to change.

A sudden anger seized Yami; how dare they steal the image so _soon_? Blue eyes were fading, morphing into some other vision he did _not _want to see.

Slim fingers found a rock, deposited on the lakeside some while ago, tanned digits curling around it and flinging it with all their strength into the liquid mirror, shattering whatever sights that were shown there into a thousand glittering droplets.

Rage at the world, the gods, _existence._

"_Will you **never** stop tormenting me?"_

The night refused to give sound to its reply. Yet it _did _reply, and in a manner which it deemed appropriate that eve.

Three hundred and one ripples, should anyone have bothered to count.


	4. Bewitchment

**Shadow: **I was too tired to write and upload yesterday; I spent most of the day attempting to do a _To Kill a Mockingbird _essay. Don't get me wrong, it's a good enough book, but essays on it are mind-numbingly _boring. _(sighs) I also went shopping for temp hair dye – I'm going vamp this year for Halloween! (smiles)

**_Warnings: _**Shonen-ai pairings (boy x boy) - mostly Prideshipping (YY x SK) but with hints of Darkshipping (YY x YB).Angst, and character death.

**_Disclaimer: _**My mum's on at me to write a Christmas list. Maybe I'll stick YGO on it…

Flashbacks and other thoughts are in _italics._

Thoughts that take place in italic sections are in **_bold italics._**

Yami's emotions are all over the place this chapter. Expect mood swings.

**Both sides of the border**

_**Bewitchment**_

What the mortal eye can see is made up entirely of light.

Then…light is a powerful thing, isn't it? It provides colour, warmth, _hope. _It divides day from night, and ranges our world in a vast array of varying hues. There is light, there is darkness, and there are all the shadows in between. Everything spiralling down to nothing – for that is light and dark. Darkness is the absence of light, as death is the absence of life and nothing the absence of something. But…what is a shadow? A shade?

A shadow is a dark area or shape produced by an object coming between rays of light and a surface. A shadow is partial or complete darkness. A shadow is sadness, a gloom cast over the world, a weak or inferior remnant of something stronger and better that had been before.

A shade is merely a colour, relating to _how _light or dark the hue is; a slight difference between one thing and the next. But then, the shade is also the cool balm away from the scorching sun, a soft dimness that wraps you in semi-darkness and soothes away hurt. A shade is a ghost, a phantom of change, a pale comparison to a breathing life.

…So why did so many compare _life _of all things to such bleak ideas? In the words of the everlasting bard: _'Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.' _

Life and light are equal in a mortal's eyes…but does the same hold true for death and the shade?

* * *

_It was such a pretty, pretty day - beautiful, in fact, only a few days before Midsummer. _

_And what a Midsummer it looked like it was going to be! Everywhere was bursting with life and colour, the air rich and heavy with the dizzying scent of the world when it was most alive._

_Oh, fateful irony at its most cruel._

_The wind seemed playful that afternoon, dancing through the leaves in the mansion grounds and blowing people's hair in their faces. Thousands of tiny ripples were created on the lake by the breeze's teasing touch, a soft sigh the air's only comment upon those gathered at the water's side._

_It was a sentiment echoed by many._

_Beside the lake, under a tree, the jade green of the growing grass was disturbed. A small, select crowd was gathered about it – a splash of darkness in a sea of colour. It was a startling juxtaposition, and impossible to miss because of the sheer transference from one mood to another, from all the shades of the rainbow to absolute black._

_There was a **hole **in the ground. _

_Dark, rich earth was obvious to all, a few averting their heads, crystal tears falling from eyes unable to see the gaping maw that was slowly devouring the white casket being lowered into it. A few stray roses, becoming unattached from perfect wreaths laid upon the case fluttered downwards into the darkness, the blood-red of their petals looking all too much like blood on freshly fallen snow._

_He hadn't wanted to be buried in a church graveyard._

_It had been something those closest to him knew – it would have been **awkward **apparently, had they attempted to go against his wishes. So, in agreement by all, he was to be buried in the place he loved the best. Under the tree. By the lake._

_Where it had all begun.

* * *

_

It had been meant as an odd question at first, a random thought that popped into his head and he expressed before really thinking about it. But, _on _thinking about it, Yami realised it actually meant a lot more than he originally intended. And it stirred up so many emotions….and not only in _him._

"If I were yours and you lost me, what would you do?"

Brown eyes regarded him in surprise – since when did _he _ever initiate conversation?

A raise of the eyebrow, message easily conveyed to his companion. _Well?_

"If you were _mine…?" _A soft whisper, a quiet voice filled with longing. "I would tear apart this world and the next to find you again, rewrite all of creation and defy the gods themselves to take you from my arms again."

Yami smiled at Bakura; a sad, sweet, smile. Ruby eyes shimmered with tears, a few crystal droplets already clinging to dark lashes. His voice, almost hoarse from grief:

"…Is it so inconceivable he would do the same?"

* * *

_There were five red roses. He'd picked them all from the same bush, at the height of midday when they bloomed most fully. Thorns had pricked his fingers, the colour of his life's blood the same shade as the petals it fell upon. They were beautiful flowers._

_The first he'd planted under a yew tree at midnight, between the roots of the ancient wood._

_The second he'd placed at a church gate, hidden in the grass of hallowed ground._

_The third he'd placed at a crossroads, with red petals pointing home._

_The fourth he'd left beside running water, a babbling stream chattering to all who heard it._

_The fifth…_

_The fifth and final rose he'd kept close to his heart, constantly pricked by the sharp barbs upon its stem._

_On the third day he buried it.

* * *

_

Bakura pitied him, and he envied Seto. Yami had known it for…_forever _really – at least as long as he and Kaiba had been together. It would have been a year, that night.

Yami didn't really know what to think anymore. To feel. Everything blurred together and left him empty of emotion – except when everything _spiked, _and he lashed out, full of rage at the world and the way things were. And anything and anyone else that stood in his way at the time. But now…

Now he was quiet, and he was waiting. There were no more tears left to cry.

'_Right?'

* * *

_

"_I miss him Yugi." Black hair nestled under crimson-tipped spikes, Mokuba wrapping his arms around Yugi's waist. Tears dampened the older teen's shirt. "Why did he go?"_

"_I…don't know." The hikari's words were soft, grip tight around his companion's waist. "I just don't know."_

"_They were – you **saw **them! Why would anyone want to- **how **could anyone want to…?"_

"_It was an accident, Mokie." Amethyst eyes, once bright with laughter, were dim. "It was a horrible accident." A deep, steadying breath. "That's all."

* * *

_

Bakura placed a hand on his arm. "Yami, some things just aren't meant to be." Dead silence, the albino frowning at the lack of response. "You cannot reach him now."

The former pharaoh didn't look at him. "You easily forget tomb-robber, don't you? Tonight is Samhain, when the Season of the Dead begins." A slight smile graced fair features. "Nothing is impossible."

"I _know _what night it is, pharaoh!" The snapped words caused scarlet eyes to stare.

'_Did Bakura just-?'_

The elder spirit had lost his cool. "What fool are you to tempt the spirits so? You offer yourself to them willingly, beautiful and unprotected – do you think them _blind?_ There are more souls than one that would have you pharaoh, and not all of them are dead to you. Give up your love for a shade, and _move on_."

"_No."_

"This is _ridiculous! _Yami – it's nearly been three _months!" _

"Why should _you _care?"

"The border between life and death is _sacred_ Yami; you can't meddle with it like this!"

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" The monarch's voice had lowered to a hiss. "You have no _idea-"_

"_I have plenty of ideas!"_ The quiet of the night had been completely abandoned. "I _know _what you're trying to do Yami, I know _why _you're doing it – do you think I haven't seen how _lost _you've been? How lost _he's _been? I've seen you both – I've seen what agonies you've went through and I'm _sorry. _I'm sorry that you were separated, but you _can't **do **this!"

* * *

_

_Notes._

_Notes and files and books and disks…how was it possible for one person to accumulate so much **stuff?**_

_With a heavy heart Mokuba began to sort through the mess, placing work and personal items in separate stacks. Appropriate papers were filed together whenever possible, put away in their corresponding drawers for a later time. It kept Mokuba busy for a long while, his mind distracted –_

_Then he found the box._

_At the bottom of one of the most hardly-ever-used drawers it sat, mockingly innocent in all its velvet-clad glory. Where Seto had placed it, earlier that March, so Yami would never find it. _

_It looked odd, lying there, amongst all of nii-san's work. Out-of-place and alien – though perhaps Seto hadn't minded. After all, he **had **been planning on taking it out sometime. _

_But then he'd never had the chance to use it…

* * *

_

_It was night, cold even though a fire burned brightly in the hearth –the window to the room was open, and a steady breeze blew in. Yami was seated at a desk made of some kind of dark wood, face pale and hand scribbling away at worn paper. His pen flew across the paper, black ink a fever, scrawling one word again and again and again._

_**Seto…**_

_A gasp for breath, the clatter as the pen hit the floor and the sudden scream of pain, of anguish, of a soul pushed too far. The paper snatched – crumpled -, flung into the fire beside to blacken, smoulder as flames ate away at a heart's desire._

_Burying his face in his hands, Yami wept._

_And the winds blew in, and carried the ashes of his self away.

* * *

_

"_Why?" _Crimson eyes were painful to look at. "Why can't I do this? He was _stolen _from me! Why can't I take him back?"

_Stolen…?_

"Yami, life isn't fair-"

"You think I haven't _noticed?" _Tanned hands were clenched once more.

'_A tragic accident' _they had said. _'A few seconds beforehand and everything would've been fine.'_

Arrows to his soul.

'_He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.'_

_**Fools.**_

That was meant to _console _him? Wipe away all the pain, the rage, the grief? Replace the soft kisses and gentle touches? Blue eyes that warmed in the special moments they were together alone? The comfort of a shoulder to cry on and the strength of an arm wrapped about his waist?

Because it _didn't._

Smiles and joy, love and laughter. Breaking down icy walls and burying himself in a loving embrace. Sleeping at a lover's side and feeling _secure._

All his for but a few months.

* * *

_I lit a lantern to guide you home._

_I wrote your name to call your soul._

_I gave you blood to strengthen your heart –_

_Oh…why won't you answer me?

* * *

_

Bakura tried a different approach. "…I may have never liked him Yami, but I admired him because you loved him."

'_Huh?'_

"He managed to win you round…something no other had ever done before – however hard Yugi's pest of a cheerleader girlfriend tried to disprove the fact."

"What does…_Tea _have to do with anything?"

"You don't remember?" Lips quirked upwards in a smile. "She tried to make out you were her boyfriend so you couldn't _possibly _be dating Kaiba – and then when it was proven beyond a doubt you _were _dating him, she claimed at least you had loved her first."

"I don't recall that."

Bakura shrugged. "Maybe you've just forgotten it, or maybe it was just never mentioned in your hearing. Actually, it was probably the latter; you were a bit touchy around the time you and the High Priest hooked up."

Yami looked blank. "But what does this have to do with-?"

A soft smile, brown eyes tinged with more than a hint of jealousy. "He still loves you, you know."

"_Seto?"_

Bakura nodded. "…Would you really _punish_ him for that love?"


	5. Curse

**Shadow: **Right…so this is the time I was expecting to be uploading my last chapter – and then schoolwork got in the road. Y'know, I was doing a chapter a day just _fine _till all the stupid essays showed up. (sighs) There are two more chapters to come after this, beware – tissues may be required. (smiles suddenly) I'm fully expecting to be beaten around the head for the cliffhanger in this chapter anyway...

**_Warnings: _**Shonen-ai pairings (boy x boy) - mostly Prideshipping (YY x SK) but with hints of Darkshipping (YY x YB).Angst, and character death.

**_Disclaimer: _**I'm happy with my own little bunch of nothing. At the moment, anyway. When I suddenly feel like taking over multi-national corporations and owning rights to everything including the air you breathe, I'll let you know.

Flashbacks and other thoughts are in _italics._

Thoughts that take place in italic sections are in **_bold italics._**

**Both sides of the border**

_**Curse**_

Death is sudden.

There are many doors leading into death, and each one opens quickly, snapping closed on a hand that may have reached out to drag a loved one safe home again. There are those that have found a way back from death, quickly scrambling back from the dark land to the sunshine and kisses of their family and friends. But they are the ones who have not gone too far; there is no resurrection for those too long wrapped in the black shroud. Those left behind can only mourn.

Nobody ever questions, really, what the 'other side' is like. Death, and all related to it, is taboo in modern society. Amen, their souls are gone but will never be forgotten – and the subject is discarded. Some, the more frowned upon in society, ask questions about the thereafter, querying God, Satan, Heaven, Hell and whether such things exist. The true answer? No-one will ever know. But people can wonder. And they can question. And they can pray for their loved ones that have already left them.

For who _truly _knows what death is like?

* * *

Bakura actually seemed to be getting _worried_. "Yami, it may be Samhain, but you mustn't do this. I know you're in pain but you must let him be." Yami was ignoring him again. As the moon rose higher the former pharaoh's mood swings grew ever more frequent, crimson eyes flashing fiery ire at him one moment and dim embers the next. Apathy, rage, grief, love and sorrow…all of these were things Bakura was well-accustomed to seeing in his once-rival's eyes. It hurt, in many ways, for him to realise that there was nothing he could do to help Yami while the other continued to ignore his words, but there was little he could do about it. Yami hurtled along his own private path of destruction and no power on earth could halt him – except Yami himself. Bakura could only watch, sad that such a proud man could be so swiftly broken, and try to slow Yami's steps just a little so at least the royal spirit could see what hell lay ahead of him before he reached it, a silent plea to what was left of the other's sanity to _stop._

There were worse things than death out there.

"Yami…you would still be with him now, even aware of what that entails?"

* * *

_It was drawing on evening, and the world outside the kitchen window was growing dim while inside was pleasantly light. A cosy atmosphere permeated the room, the delicious smell of spaghetti bolognaise emanating from the stove where a young man was working, the scent floating out of the kitchen door and filling the rest of the mansion he called home. The male hummed as he cooked, glad for once there were no others there to observe him and comment on his unusually good mood. _

_His lover was due in soon from where he had been out shopping, Mokuba too from playing at his friend's. It would nice, for once, for all of them to sit down and eat together as a family – and it was with that idea in mind he'd sent the staff home early so he could prepare the dinner himself. _

_But what about something different to drink…? _

_The young man reached into the fridge, pulling out a bottle of red wine he'd left there earlier to cool. Quickly he poured out two glasses for himself and his partner, about to pour a third when he remembered Mokuba's distaste for the stuff. Another rummage in the fridge procured a can of cola, and this he set beside the raven-haired teenager's space on the table. That done, he went to go check on the spaghetti again, taking a sip of his wine after he'd turned the food down to simmer._

_And promptly dropped the glass, clutching two hands to his body as a sudden lance of pain ripped through his chest. "Ah…" _

_Blood-red liquid spilled everywhere, the glass shattering into a hundred wickedly gleaming shards.

* * *

_

"…I hate you."

Bakura nearly missed the whisper, so quiet was it compared to the nearly silent breeze that played with the white strands of his hair.

"…Why?"

A shiver, Yami's skin paler than it had used to be. "You have to ask? You can still see him…"

"…Oh." The thief's tone was soft. "I…guess so."

"You _guess _so?" Sarcasm laced the pharaoh's words. "You _know _so! You _do _so!" He scowled, voice dipping towards venomous. "Again and again you do so and you keep coming back _here!_ Why can't you leave me _alone?" _

Bakura swallowed, dipping his head slightly. "…I fear for what you may actually accomplish."

"So you believe I will succeed?"

"Oh, I have no doubt you will _succeed." _A self-mocking smile twisted the albino's lips. "You _are _the King of Games after all; no power in existence can, has or will take that from you."

"…Then why fear…? If I always win -" All venom in Yami's voice had disappeared, ruby eyes lighting with hope and shimmering with a soft luminescence that took his watcher's breath away.

Reluctantly, berating himself, Bakura tore his gaze away from Yami's. "_Per-a'a_…be careful what you wish for." A steadying breath. "Others have '_won' _before..."

* * *

_The day was done and the moon had not yet come out, the world lost in the eve between shadows and true darkness. Chill winds swept the earth, stars slowly coming to life in the dimming blue – not yet black – of the sky above. Leaves danced and the trees groaned, and a pale shadow slipped from a stately mansion into the breeze of Samhain, the evening twining soft arms about it and drawing it onwards. _

_In another mansion's grounds, in the same place, another wraith rested under a tree by the lakeside.

* * *

_

The scowl was back. "You always hated me being with him, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." Bakura's voice was calm. "I hated every smile he shot your way, every gentle touch upon your face or arm. Every time he kissed you I was insane with jealousy- I envied him your love. I still envy it now, still seeing the devotion you show him."

Stunned words: "How can you say these things?"

The albino ignored the question. "He made your eyes shine with joy. It was wonderful to see such happiness – as wonderful as how terrible it is to see now your eyes full of pain."

'_Always, **always **picking at unhealed scars!' _

"_How can you say these things?"_

A sad smile. "Because they're true."

"_That doesn't men you have to **say **them!"_

"What is it, Yami?" Brown eyes stared fiercely into crimson. "Why are you so afraid of the truth? You know it as well as I do! You _knew _what you were getting into when you left the Puzzle, you knew fine _well _what you were going to get when you started dating Kaiba – so he's gone! Big _deal! People die all the time!"_

Bakura knew he'd gone too far when Yami's face completely drained of all colour, the royal spirit turning on his heel and racing for the trees surrounding the lake. The tomb-reached out a hand, desperately trying to snatch the other's hand before he got too far, but Yami shook him off, gone in the blink of an eye.

"_Yami-!"_

The thief took off after him, darting after the elusive monarch while internally yelling at himself. So busy were both he and Yami running, that neither of them properly noticed that at last, the moon had finally risen fully…

* * *

_Nose pressed to the glass of the door pane he could see in, shoving away doctors and residents that tried to move him. Mokuba was with Yugi, the two lost in the midst of friends, so many mingled tears it was impossible to identify just who it was that had started crying first._

_Maybe it was him._

"_Sir, please, perhaps we could-"_

"_**Get away from me!" **_

_A few people around him stared, Yugi raising his head from Mokuba to send a worried glance his way. Hell, they were all worried. A shake, and the amethyst-eyed hikari was once again concentrating on the raven-haired teenager weeping in his lap. Yugi needed something to concentrate on. _

_As did he._

_**His** focus however was in the room he stared so ardently into, gaze refusing to be torn from the slim form that lay surrounded by furiously-working doctors and surgeons, the dear frame that he knew as well as his own lying battered and broken, bloodied and bruised and fighting for life. _

"_Please…" Eyes were clenched shut, fingernails digging into his palms so hard to draw blood, tears spilling through his lashes and running down his cheeks. He didn't care who saw him anymore, as long as his lover would be safe, as long as he could go in there and kiss the beautiful youth he was so madly in love with, wipe away the hurt and never leave him again. Silent pleas to whoever was out there…they couldn't do this to him. Hadn't he already been through enough? Hadn't they **both **been through enough?_

_The machines mocked him, delicate wires twisting around smooth skin and relaying messages to graphs and squiggles he didn't entirely understand. _

_**Beep.**_

…

_**Beep.**_

_A hand on his arm._

_Eyes flickered open, fixing on the tear-blurred form of the thief, Bakura. _

"_**What?" **His words were raspy, torn from a hurting throat._

_The albino ducked his head in acknowledgement of the other's pain, usually sneering voice a so quiet as to be barely heard. _

"…_Can I stand here with you?" _

_Blank, dark gaze, once more turning away. "…Do what you will."_

_**Beep.**_

…

_**Beep.**_

_His lover was still bleeding…why couldn't they do anything about that? Why **weren't **they doing anything about that? The sweet features he so often admired were scarred, a jagged wound stretching from jaw to hairline, a slash covering the other's waist._

…

_**Beep.**_

…

_**Beep.**_

…

…

…

_**Beep.**_

…

…

…

_The surgeons were working faster, but the sound he suddenly longed to hear was coming and less frequently. "No…"_

_**Beep.**_

…

…

…

_And then a high-pitched, monotonous, ear-splitting **whine.

* * *

**_

Bakura was easy to avoid, when you became accustomed to avoiding him.

Yami sighed, collapsing against the tree from where he'd first ran off. He'd ran around in a circle, slipping past the thief numerous times and leaving him wandering through a notably dense patch of wood. A simple spell fooled the Millennium Ring, and now he was alone again. Gods, it had barely been half an hour and already he felt as if he'd left this place that was so close to him for eons.

Hadn't this been the place where Seto had first kissed him…?

* * *

_By my blood and by this light,_

_Return to me this Samhain night.

* * *

_

_Idle patterns were drawn down one arm, feather-light brushes tickling the golden skin. "You know…the origins of mask and costume-wearing lie in the old folklore that on the night of All Hallow's, evil spirits and faeries roam." _

"_Oh?" Yami fought to keep his expression neutral; the other's touch was sending tingles of pleasure racing throughout his entire body._

"_Yes, **oh**." A shadowy smile was shot his way, dark eyes regarding him with an almost feline amusement. "Samhain is the night when the worlds **bleed** into one another, and the borders between life and death simply fall away. Costumes were worn to deceive the spirits, as it was thought the fey creatures would 'steal' a beautiful mortal they desired, and call them to death before their time…" A pregnant pause. "Make sure your costume's a good one this year, Yami."_

"_And why's that?" The Egyptian spirit found himself unable to move, unable to **think** clearly with his gaze locked by impossibly dark, **dark** blue. _

_Warm breath against his ear, the sudden heat sending shivers down his spine. "…I'm not **quite** willing to relinquish you to the faeries yet...though I guess I could always just steal you **first**…" _

"'_Steal me first'?" Yami couldn't help the quirk of amusement at the corners of his lips. "And how, my would-be captor, do you intend to do that? Despite my size, I am not so easily carried away."_

_A low chuckle was his reward. "You would not willingly be stolen? A pity…perhaps I could change your mind." _

_Lips trailed over his skin, moving upwards to place a soft kiss upon his lips. A gentle touch – the first kiss he could remember in a long time and no less worthy for the wait. It took little for thought to flee Yami's mind, and even less for him to wrap his arms around Kaiba's neck, dragging the other's head down to a more comfortable height, eyes slipping closed. They were lost then, both of them, the night wrapping velvety arms around the couple, the falling autumn leaves a whisper that cloaked the soft words and cries, stealing the light from fey lanterns and whisking it away to a land of half-hidden dreams and desires.

* * *

_

The world fell still.

Ruby irises glanced upwards, suddenly noticing the full moon at its peak. Yami didn't need a clock to know the time.

_Midnight._

The wind rustled the leaves, sending them in dancing spirals around his slender form, golden bangs whipping across his face. The moon turned the world around him to silver, a starlit painting of soft blues and whites, the barrier between worlds broken and leaving him walking in a land of spirits and dreams.

Eyes the colour of warm flame drifted closed.

_Where are you? I cannot find you however hard I look._

'_**I left a lantern to guide you home…'**_

_The light is fading._

'_**Then follow my soul. I've called to you for so long…please, don't leave me alone. I can't bear it here alone…'**_

Insubstantial hands traced the curve of his face.

_I called to you too._

'**_I know.'_**

Knowledge stole into his mind, a delicate branch of white that cobwebbed around his thoughts, filming them in sparkling strands of silver.

_Why did you leave me?_

'**_I had no choice…'_**

The breeze blew softly, the quiet _shhh _of the branches above Yami a low melody that coaxed dark lashes to open once more. Blue, blue eyes, the flawless shade of perfect sapphire, gazed at him, wind playing with the deep chocolate locks that framed a face surely even the Gods' envied.

_Samhain is the night when the worlds **bleed** into one another, and the border between life and death simply falls away…_

Lips parted, a muted word falling to the night.

"_Seto…"_


	6. Charm

**Shadow: **This chapter is full of hints – and I think it has an evil cliffie. (wails) I couldn't help it! I've been really busy, and this chapter just would _not _be written. So saying, there's only one more chapter left to go, and then you'll get _all _the answers. I promise.

**_Warnings: _**Shonen-ai pairings (boy x boy) - mostly Prideshipping (YY x SK) but with hints of Darkshipping (YY x YB).Angst, and character death.

**_Disclaimer: _**I wish.

Flashbacks and other thoughts are in _italics._

Thoughts that take place in italic sections are in **_bold italics._**

People, there's a reason I put this in 'Angst.'

**_

* * *

_**

**Both sides of the border**

_**Charm**_

Myth, legend, and tale oft told on a dark and stormy night would hold that not all people move on when their earthly time is done. All of them have their reasons for returning, most of them never having _left _in the first place. Ghosts, spirits, spectres, phantoms…all of these are names given to the dead that just _won't _pass through the final gate to their destiny.

But what reason do these people have for staying behind…? Some, perhaps, are afraid of the last death, from which there can _never _be a return. Others may have returned to impart some wisdom the other side has granted them to their loved ones, others yet still vowing to complete some task before reaching the bliss of eternal peace. More simply refuse to believe they are dead, and are greedy for what little semblance of life they can achieve.

And then…there are those who life cursed. Those who suffered before death, or were taken swiftly away by that which walked beside them all their lives. Those who had untimely deaths. Such spirits of this sort are often confused; bewildered, continuing to do the daily tasks they did while they were alive, unaware of their own passing. Children have continued to play even though their homes were burnt down with them inside, innocent laughter ringing through the crumbling ashes of once stately manors. Kings and Queens have walked paths they trod hours before their execution, ghostly pipers piping songs from hundreds of years ago over a city sleeping from age-old melodies.

It is always something that ties a soul to the earth; that holds it fast against the ever-shifting current of life and death; be it pain, memories, another soul or sheer stubbornness. Some want to stay, some long to go…

It's all about the individual, I guess.

* * *

Months of dreams and hopes, wishes and longing, love and pain, rage, grief and sorrow…all of it culminated here. It was a cycle, and at last events had come a full circle.

"Seto…_"_

Blue eyes stared at him, the tall body of Seto Kaiba perfectly unmoving, shock still and staring at the youth he would've married.

"_He still loves you, you know."_

Bakura's words, Bakura's voice, all of Yami's secret hopes for the past three months in six, simple _words_.

He took a step away from the tree, one hand outstretched to his lover. "Seto…?" The pharaoh stopped a metre away from his companion, ruby irises soft. "Speak to me, please."

Eyes the colour of sapphires strayed past him, falling upon the white marker that had materialised from the shadows when midnight fell, the moon's light causing the pale stone to glow in the darkness.

"Don't look at that." Tanned hands took alabaster ones, lightly tugging on them. "Seto, look at me."

Wordlessly, Kaiba glanced down to where their fingers were tangled, slim digits curled around his own. Lashes flickered, doubt shadowing a usually bright gaze.

"…_Yami…?"_

Swallowing, the once King of Games nodded. "Yes, Seto. It's me."

* * *

_Morning, and the summer sunshine spilled into the kitchen where Yami was clearing up his breakfast things, dumping the dirty dishes and glassware into the sink. He was humming as he worked, some song that had been on the radio the other day in Seto's car, a catchy tune that had stuck in both his and Mokuba's heads and resulted in both of them near driving their shared loved one mad. _

"_Not **that **thing again…" A groan halted Yami's song, a smile curving onto the former pharaoh's face as his boyfriend downed his traditional mug of coffee he had **every **morning – black-, and moved around the table that separated them to pull his lover into a hug._

"_Good morning…" _

_Seto snorted. "Those words should never been in the same **paragraph **never **mind **the same sentence."_

"_Just because you-mm…"_

_Yami's words were cut short, mouth covered by Kaiba's in a hard kiss. They broke for air, breathless._

"_Mmm…" Lashes flickered open, Yami's lips still curved in a smile. "What was **that **for, Seto Kaiba?"_

"_I felt like it." Kaiba's expression was languid._

"_How utterly selfish of you." Ruby eyes gleamed with amusement. "What if I didn't want that kiss?"_

_His lover smirked, pulling him closer again. "Then, please, permit me to take my gift back…"_

"_Nooo…." Laughing, Yami wriggled out the brunette's grasp, patting the other lightly on the cheek. "I'm going out, remember?"_

_Kaiba wrinkled his nose. "With the geek squad? Yami-"_

"_Sweetheart, they're my friends."_

"_But-"_

_A quick kiss on the lips silenced the CEO, Yami looking at him seriously. "They're my **friends, **Seto, and I love them dearly. I'm going out…I should be back around six, alright?"_

_Kaiba sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fine…I'll try to be home from work about then, we could have dinner together? Mokuba too? It's been a while since we ate as a 'family'."_

_The former pharaoh smiled. "I'd like that."

* * *

_

Bakura damned Yami with every breath he could muster in his body, then, after suddenly realising what the hell he was actually _saying, _prayed swiftly to all deities out there to take his words back again.

Yami had gone…_somewhere. _Which was really specific, he knew, but Bakura couldn't really narrow down his search much. There was a blanket of magic coating his Ring that he couldn't penetrate, and he was…well, _lost _in a patch of trees. Yami had given him the slip and if Ryou ever found out he'd _never _live it down.

'_Damn…'

* * *

_

Kaiba's touch was…wondering, fingers tracing the other's skin as if he couldn't believe Yami was really _there. _Yami, in turn, was wrapped around him, burying his face in his lover's shoulder.

The brunette's voice was husky. "…Yami, you're so _cold."_

A visible shudder ran through the royal youth's frame at his words, slim body pressing closer to the CEO seeking comfort and heat. "Then warm me please, I beg of you."

Digits trailed higher, brushing the pharaoh's throat, nose and forehead.

"Your skin is smooth…"

Numbly Yami nodded, twisting his head to the side so he could kiss the brunette's palm.

Ruby eyes were filled with emotion. "I missed you…"

"I know;" lips traced the curve of his jaw, travelling up to the soft skin behind his ear, "God, I _know_. I've wanted you every day you were gone…" Fingers shadowed the soft contours of his neck, slim digits encountering the fine chain that hung there. "…You're wearing your necklace?"

Another nod. "I've never taken it off. I wore it on the day of the funeral…"

Kaiba inhaled sharply, the sound loud against Yami's ear. "Don't – Yami, _never – _don't speak to me of that. Talk of _anything _but that."

His companion nodded dumbly, reaching up to place a chaste kiss on Kaiba's lips. A chaste kiss that soon deepened, however, when the brunette slid a hand around the back of Yami's head to hold him in place, the hot warmth of the other's mouth sending a wave of dizzying shock and pleasure down the slender monarch's spine.

* * *

"_I take it you're off home now?"_

"_I – what?" Yami turned around from where he had been walking, happily anticipating returning home to the mansion, to see Bakura right behind him. "Where the hell did **you **come from?"_

_The albino shrugged. "I saw you saying goodbye to your hikari, mine and the other dweebs." _

"_So you **followed **me?" _

"_That's about it, yeah."_

_Yami frowned. "Just…**why, **exactly? Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?" _

_Bakura stared at him. "Pharaoh, you're meant to be **smart. **Why bother asking that?"_

"_Forgive me for assuming you had some sort of **life…" **Yami turned away, already beginning to walk off, "goodbye, Bakura." _

_The albino seemed to fight an internal battle for a few moments. "….Yami, wait!"_

_Again, the King of Games halted. "What **now, **tomb-robber?"_

_Bakura bit his lip._

_There was silence for a few moments._

"…_Bakura?"_

"…_It doesn't matter." The thief shook his head, white hair flying around his face before settling in its usual spikes. "Have a nice night, Yami, and enjoy midsummer with Kaiba."_

_Yami looked at him, puzzled. "I…thankyou." Crimson eyes warmed slightly. "I'm sure I shall."

* * *

_

Kaiba broke the kiss, pale cheeks flushed with heat, hair in disarray and panting for breath.

Yami watched him quietly. "Are you alright?"

Surprise shone in blue eyes, then sudden realisation. "Oh, Yami…"

The pharaoh shushed him. "_Mery-i…_you know I love you, don't you?"

"And I you more." Seto's words were soft. "I always have. But Yami, this…am I dreaming?"

"If you are dreaming, I am dreaming too…" Their hands were twined. "Stay with me."

The moon was beginning to sink, pale light beginning to dim. Time seemed to shift around them, and it was rapidly counting down against them.

"…Is this even real?"

Yami grabbed the other's head, forcing sapphire away from the distractions in the changing worlds around them, to stare straight into ruby.

A hash, _hard _kiss, voice barely above a whisper:

"This is Samhain, Seto. This is All Hallow's Eve for a long as the midnight hour is here. This is my world, and this is your world, and here both combine until one. This is as _real _as you and I make it."

* * *

It hurt.

Bakura had grown used to hurt over the eons, losing his family, his friends, his _life _all in one sickening blow. Everything he had known had been wiped away when he had been but a child.

But watching the one he'd fallen in love with find happiness with another?

It felt as if someone had reached into his chest and ripped his heart apart in front of his _eyes._

But…wasn't that kind of what someone was doing…?

He'd watched as Yami was taken away from him the year before, the Halloween party ending all his hopes in one, swift blow. Then the pharaoh had moved into the Kaiba mansion with his former priest. Then there had been the accident…at midsummer earlier that year, and Yami had pined after Seto for God's knows how long.

And, through it all, Yami had managed to thoroughly break what was left of his spirit.

Why did he bother trying to help someone who hated him? Bakura didn't know, he didn't really care any longer. He liked to see Yami smile…it had been so long since the pharaoh had done that, properly.

Only Yugi and Kaiba had ever truly made him smile, and, since Yugi was technically part of Yami anyway, only Kaiba really counted. Only Kaiba made Yami smile…

He loved Yami, but he couldn't let the pharaoh have his way. Not in this.

* * *

"_I thought you loved him."_

Chill words snapped apart the fragile quiet Seto and Yami held, sapphire and ruby startled and staring at the slim wraith who had – seemingly – appeared from thin air beside them.

"Bakura." Kaiba frowned. "What are you doing he-?" The brunette halted mid-sentence – the thief had just looked up.

Brown eyes were shadowy pits, dull and empty and lifeless. It was as if Bakura was _dead _inside, his soul defeated and fleeing before the encroaching night.

In contrast, Yami had never seemed more vibrant to Kaiba, the former pharaoh alight with the inner fire he had always admired.

"Ignore him." Yami's tone was dismissive. He knew the thief would've found them eventually, he'd just hoped for it to be a little later…

Bakura snorted. "You can't ignore me for forever, Yami, nor can your lover there. It is almost one, and your allotted time is almost done. The Priest must leave."

"_No." _Instinctively, both Yami and Kaiba's hands tightened on the other.

"Seto, stay with me!"

Blue eyes warmed, the brunette giving an almost imperceptible nod.

Bakura's voice was acid. "What about Mokuba?"

Kaiba faltered.

'_Stay with me.'_

No words were spoken, the breeze carrying the voice and twining it with the night air.

A pointed look from the tomb-robber. "It's almost one."

'_Please, don't leave me alone. I can't bear it here alone…'_

"Seto-"

"_Yami, you can't meddle in this!" _Bakura angrily cut the other short. "Don't you _already _realise what you've done? People die for a reason!"

The pharaoh's words were soft. "…There is no reason in madness."

The moon sank a little lower.

'_The light is fading.'_

Blue eyes strayed once more to the marker, the innocent stone beneath the tree beside the lake.

_He hadn't wanted to be buried in a church graveyard._

"Let him go." Once more, Bakura was quiet. "It's not yet his time."

Silence.

"He has people who love him. If _you _love him, let him go."

Blue eyes looked into brown, then back into crimson. "Yami…"

"…_It is almost one, and your allotted time is almost done. The Priest must leave."_

Slowly, Yami disentangled himself from his companion. "Mery-i…" Ruby eyes spoke more than any words could.

"_Seto Kaiba…I love you."_

Kaiba smiled, expression warm and loving. Gently, he placed a chaste kiss on Yami's lips, and then on his brow. _"I love you too."_

And stepped back.


	7. Love

**Shadow: **What can I possibly say here? Oh, forget it; I'll rant at the end. This is the last chapter, so enjoy! (Yes, I _know _it's late…)

**_Warnings: _**Shonen-ai pairings (boy x boy) - mostly Prideshipping (YY x SK) but with hints of Darkshipping (YY x YB).Angst, and character death.

**_Disclaimer: _**What I do have I keep losing, so I try not to have anything in the first place. Then I can't lose it. (smiles)

Flashbacks and other thoughts are in _italics._

Thoughts that take place in italic sections are in **_bold italics.

* * *

_**

**Both sides of the border**

_**Love**_

_Love is the greatest magic of them all…_

Borders are such strange things.

They separate _here _from _there, _nowhere from somewhere, everything from nothing in the crossing of an invisible line. Reality, conception…all can be easily abandoned by crossing a border, moving to a place where a different power holds sway. Rules, ideals…society itself, everything you know and love and hold dear…what can they possibly mean in a place where they no longer exist? You are no longer where you were, and what was one law to you is now casual disregard. Forgotten. Useless.

_Painful._

But people cross borders all the time, without realising it. There is a line between waking and sleeping, between normalcy and despair. Everything is neatly packaged up into spaces and amounts for mortal minds to make sense of from natural confusion. All so poor fools can stake claim to much more than they could ever possibly deserve.

Borders are everywhere. Dark, light; day, night…_everywhere. _Lost in finding themselves people always seem to forget one thing. Borders…be they big or small, between giant continents or just small dividers between plots in a garden, insignificant or important…there is one thing people always tend to forget in their fuss.

_There are two sides to every border.

* * *

_

The sun shone brightly into the room through haphazardly-closed curtains, slanted rays cutting across the dim shadows and lazily sprawling themselves across the sleeping face of Mokuba Kaiba. The teenager's eyelashes fluttered at the light's audacity, blue-grey eyes opening slowly to glance around his bedroom, bemused.

And then Mokuba promptly let out a hiss, and dived back under his duvet. A grouchy 'Aw _man' _made itself known through the layers of cloth. After a few seconds the duvet was hesitantly removed, this time sensitive irises prepared for the sudden change of light.

"What time is it…?"

A glance at the clock on his bedside cabinet answered Mokuba's question, red numbers gleaming almost mockingly at the black-haired teen.

_Nine o' clock… _The heir to the Kaiba empire inwardly groaned. _And it's a **Saturday! **_Aggrieved, he slid out of bed, quickly burying his toes in the thick carpet covering the floor to ward off the chill morning air. A quick wash, dress, and a brush of the hair and he was ready, padding downstairs to the kitchen for food.

He couldn't be bothered with cereal, but he insisted upon orange juice. Pulling open the fridge and grabbing the last carton he poured himself a healthy amount out into a glass, putting the carton back and bopping the fridge shut with his elbow.

Only to halt, wide-eyed, staring at the calendar that he'd placed there on the door that January, the date glaring out off the paper at him.

_November 1st – the Feast of All Saints._

The day _after _Halloween. Oh, how _could _he have forgotten?

The orange was quickly abandoned on the bench, Mokuba racing out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his guardian's room two steps at a time. He flung the door open, wood crashing off plaster so hard the teen was sure he had probably damaged the wall.

The room was empty.

* * *

"_So…**how **did you get Seto to agree to this again?" _

_Yami was casually striding off down the path between the mansion and the lake, picnic basket tucked neatly into the crook of his arm and Mokuba – armed with a blanket – at his side._

"_A mixture of bribery and blackmail."_

"…_Do I even **want **to know?"_

_Yami grinned, spreading the blanket out on the grass. "I'm sure you're capable of guessing anyway."_

_Mokuba pulled a face. "I was right. I **definitely **don't want to know."_

_His companion laughed, standing up and stretching. "Let me see…we have the blanket, the basket, the cups, you, me…all that's missing is your brother!" Raising his voice he yelled: "**Seto!" **The named brunette came into view-_

_Only to stop dead when met with two exasperated gazes._

"_What?"_

"_The **laptop, **nii-san." Mokuba crossed his arms, fixing a steely glare on the piece of equipment his sibling held._

"_I brought it out to do some work on while-"_

"_**No." **This was Yami. "We are going to have a nice, work-free picnic Seto Kaiba, here, outside. The laptop stays **inside. **Agreed?"_

"_But-"_

"_**Inside."**_

"…_Fine." With a sigh Kaiba relinquished his laptop to Mokuba, who promptly ran off to take it back to its home in the mansion._

_Yami took his boyfriend's hand, gently leading him over to the blanket and sitting down. "You work hard enough during the **week, **mery-i. Take the time to relax during your time off at the weekends; let your employees do their jobs. Is that not what you pay them to do?"_

"_I pay them to work for me Yami." At the other's touch Kaiba lay back, lying his head in his lover's lap. "If I am not there, who do they work for?"_

_Tanned hands threaded through chocolate strands, a slow massage to the skull. "You need not always be there in person for them to work for you, Seto. Your employees more so than anyone else's, I believe. They live in constant fear you will show up out of the blue and fire the on the spot."_

_Sapphire eyes slipped closed. "I accept only excellence."_

"_Excellence is all well and good koibito…" Yami smiled softly, "but you must remember we are but mortal men. Everyone stumbles now and then, even the most excellent of us."_

"_Then I am truly the luckiest of us all." Startling Yami, Kaiba sat upright._

"_Indeed?" The pharaoh blinked._

"_Indeed." Kaiba's expression was the warmest the former spirit had ever seen it as he took his lover's hand. "For when I stumble, you are always there to catch me before I fall. Excellence comes and excellence goes, and its shine often blinds me to what is truly important. For, when the day is done and darkness falls excellence fades, but you are still with me. You are my constant, Yami, and I love you more than I can ever say."_

_Yami blushed, but smiled.

* * *

_

This had been the room Yami and Seto had shared.

With a sigh Mokuba crossed the room, stopping at the window and looking out at the autumn sunshine. He could see nearly all the grounds from his position, and a bird sang to him as he stood there, the feathered creature full of joy at the new morning. Laughter and love hung in the air.

Mokuba could almost see his brother standing in front of his wardrobe, grumbling as norm as Yami cheerfully batted his lover's hands away and adjusted the brunette's tie. Seto hadn't really ever minded his boyfriend's attentions, but the complaints had become part of the daily morning routine. Mokuba could still remember the bickering the two insisted on, and the sweet kiss goodbye it always ended in as Seto headed off to KaibaCorp, Yami to whatever whim possessed him that day.

Then there were the evenings he'd came in to find both lovers just standing at the window, watching the sun go down. It was always a cosy picture, and though Mokuba had known neither Yami nor Seto would've sent him away he left anyway, unwilling to intrude on the comfortable scene.

Seto had Yami had been so _content._

Blue-grey eyes glanced away from the outside world, slow steps taking him past the bed which had so obviously not been slept in the night before, to the dark wood of the dresser on the far side of the room. Half of the bureau lay noticeably empty, cleared of everything that had once been there save two, faded masks that had been carelessly left. Pure white was twined with black, a few stars on the midnight cloth just visible under months of neglect.

The lonely masks were a stark reminder of how things had changed.

Lost, crumpled and discarded, they lay where idle hands ha dropped them, gathering dust in a deliberately abandoned place. Memories lay upon them thick as dirt, pain collected in every crease, visible with every dull glitter from a worn sequin.

Mokuba couldn't bear to touch them either.

* * *

_It was nice to come in to a house that felt like home._

_Mokuba couldn't help the smile that graced his lips as he slid through the front door of the mansion he lived in with older brother and, more recently, brother's lover. Yami had been living with them for roughly seven months, and already he'd worked wonders the youngest Kaiba sibling had thought impossible._

_Seto came home far, far more often than he'd used to, and worked shorter hours. Seto smiled more, and was willing to actually **relax **when he came home from work. A bit of combined coaxing on Yami and Mokuba's behalf had led to the younger receiving more trust, and some of Seto's blatant over-protectiveness had ebbed slightly. But, really, the biggest change Yami had made was making the Kaiba mansion a home. _

_The place seemed brighter now the former pharaoh lived there, cheerful conversation between all who lived and worked under its roof not uncommon. On a friendly basis with all the staff it was not rare to find Yami assisting around the mansion and grounds, amiably discussing the weather and other whatnot with anyone regardless of position and status. There was Yami and Seto, bickering over who would do the chores on the maid's day off, and there was all three of them happily camped out in front of the television, stuffing their faces with popcorn while watching a movie. Just general, **family **things. Wonderful, warm and hopeless, something none of them had realised was missing until Yami had brought it._

_Mokuba hung his coat up on a nearby hook, sniffing the air interestedly as he wandered along the mansion hallway to its source. He'd been out at a friend's all day, playing games, it was evening and now he was **starving. **_

_Yami had went out earlier with Yugi-tachi, and Mokuba wasn't really sure whether the crimson-eyed spirit was home yet, so calling for his brother seemed the best option. The teen's stomach rumbled, and the smell of…spaghetti bolognaise – that was it – was only making him hungrier. _

"_Hey, nii-san. Are you home?" Drawing closer to the kitchen (where the smell was coming from) Mokuba could hear the sound of humming, and the smile that had previously found its way onto the black-haired youth's face quickly changed to a grin. Then, the humming stopped, and there was the sound of the fridge being opened and shut. The pop of a cork. A gasp, and then the sound of glass smashing. _

"_Seto!" Mokuba ran the last few steps to the kitchen, flinging open the room's door with less than his usual lack of skill._

_There was red liquid all over the floor, and Seto was on his knees, clutching his chest in agony. A wave of panic raced through Mokuba, only a few bare scraps of it relieved when he realised the scarlet fluid was actually **wine **(the bottle sitting on the table gave that away), and not blood like he had originally thought._

_But Seto was still in pain…_

"_Nii-san!" Worried hands touched Kaiba's shoulder, trying to attract the CEO's attention. "What's wrong?"_

"_Mokuba…?" Glazed blue eyes opened to look at the teen, Kaiba's face a horrible grimace. "Ah…" Eyes were screwed shut once more, Mokuba could almost **see **another wave of pain ripple down his brother's spine. And then…it stopped._

_Kaiba shakily stood, breathing heavily. The broken glass glinted under the kitchen lights that seemed suddenly too harsh, too bright._

"_Nii-san…"_

"_I'm **fine, **Mokuba." Cold, chilling words that whipped across the youngest boy's soul._

_Mokuba flinched, having not heard that note in his brother's voice for a long while. "Seto…you looked like you were having a heart attack." _

_Kaiba began to clear up the glass on the floor. "Nonsense."_

"_We should call the doctor."_

"_**No."**_

"_Seto-"_

"_**No **Mokuba!" The wine was mopped up, the acrid smell beginning to sting at the back of Mokuba's throat. "It was just heartburn. It took me by surprise and I dropped my glass. That's it. Now, turn the food down for me please."_

_Obediently, Mokuba did as he was told. "Can I at least phone Yami?"_

_Annoyed, Seto looked up. "What on earth for?"_

"_He'd want to know."_

"_All I did was drop a glass!" _

"_Seto, you-"_

_The phone rang._

_Frowning, Kaiba got to his feet, shooting a pointed glance at his brother before stalking over to the wall phone and picking up the handset. _

"_Kaiba residence. To whom may I be…" Words trailed away._

_Mokuba could only stare, curious, as his older brother's face suddenly drained of all colour, hand wrapped so tightly around the telephone receiver his knuckles were white, and it looked as if the brittle plastic would snap._

_An eternity of wondering._

"_I'll be right there."_

_Blue eyes, dazed, looked down into blue-grey._

"_We're going to the hospital."

* * *

_

He left the door open on his way out of the room, trailing one hand down the wall as he went along the corridor and descended the stairs. From there it was barely a few minutes walk to get outside, the chill air wrapping around his form even while the weak sun tried to warm him.

Leaves batted his face and caught themselves in Mokuba's hair as he walked, cold hands irritably tugging them out and casting them once more to the breeze that had placed them there in the first place. The black-haired teen began to regret leaving his coat in the house when he shivered, wrapping his arms around himself as he slipped between red-gold and yellow-clad trees. The lake glimmered at him in the morning light as soon as it came into view, the blue waters rippling with faint currents that were fed by bubbling streams. When he was younger Mokuba had once traced the lake's feeder brook, and followed its winding path all throughout the grounds. He'd fallen in, and caught a chill. Seto hadn't been very happy with him… He looked away from the lake; it was not his reason for coming outside.

The white marker was easy to spot in the morning sunlight, but there was nobody around. Frown tugging at his lips Mokuba approached it, glancing bemused at the smoking candle at the stone's side whose sweet smell twined with the natural scents of earth and growth.

'_Someone's just been here…'_

So how come no-one was around?

Sighing, Mokuba knelt, carefully avoiding the thorns of the red rose bush that had been planted at the marker's side. The ground around the bush had been cleared of all fallen petals, and the stone itself carefully looked after by loving hands. Gold words glittered at him, deeply etched into smooth marble.

_Mokuba. _

A loving voice.

"_Mokuba."_

A _living _voice, and the two were so hopelessly intertwined Mokuba knew the living and the dead both might as well have possessed the same soul. For they felt each other's pain.

"Mokuba." A light hand touched his shoulder. "What are you doing up so early?"

A wry smile touched the named youth's lips, Mokuba twisting to look at the owner of the hand. "What are you doing up so late?"

Kaiba bit his lip, blue eyes suddenly dark with emotion. His voice was soft.

"Last night was Halloween."

* * *

_A nightmare._

_Seto Kaiba was trapped in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. _

_It had started with the phone call. And then there had been the drive. And then they had reached the hospital and everything had been one downward spiral of events that just kept on getting worse._

_On hearing the news Mokuba had promptly burst into tears._

_Kaiba hadn't really been paying any attention, drifting aimlessly away from the gathered Yugi-tachi, intent on one thing and one thing alone. Doctors hastily moved out of his path, a stubborn one that refused to leave babbling on about 'conditions' and 'rules'._

_As if Kaiba could care._

_A sharp glare sent the man scurrying, and the 'eep' he let out as he ran was enough to warn off the other fools that might have attempted to stop him. _

_**Operating theatre.**_

_Two words glared in his consciousness, his focus in a world that kept shifting constantly under his feet._

_And the cold glass touched his face as he looked in, and he felt the shredded remains of his heart tear in two once more. _

'_**Yami…'**_

_Another annoying doctor was at his side. _

"_Sir, please, perhaps we could-"_

"_**Get away from me!" **_

_Another annoying doctor was heading for the hills._

_A few stares were shot his way, but when blue eyes met theirs defiantly they turned away. Grief changed mortals. Yugi looked up at him. Yugi, who was looking after Mokuba…_

_Kaiba was grateful to him. _

_Tears were caught in amethyst eyes, unwilling to fall. _

_Because Yugi was still looking after Mokuba, when he was in pain himself…_

_Kaiba shook his head softly, a silent message for his lover's hikari not to worry about him as well. Yugi had enough on his plate._

_They all did._

_**Yami…**_

_The room beyond called to him, yet the door between kept him away. A small oval was his only view, a glass divide that mocked his inability to pass. _

_Doctors worked furiously inside the theatre, blue-wrapped men and woman that worked quickly, blank faces obscured by sterile masks. They were mimes, acting in some grotesque play, mindless robots, one and the same. _

_Yami lay on the bed at the centre of their mass, unconscious. Ruby eyes were shut, unable to rival the red of the blood that still bled profusely from the terrible gashes that covered the former pharaoh's body. Yami was littered in cuts, one slicing across his fair face from jaw to forehead, slicing open the soft skin of the spirit's cheek. Another wound cut the other's chest and waist, and it was this the surgeons worked on._

_Yami had lost so much blood… _

"_Please…" Kaiba didn't know to whom he was praying, but he did it with all his strength. He loved Yami, Kami-sama, he loved Yami with all his heart, mind, body and soul. There was no part of him that did not belong completely to the pharaoh, and he would give anything – **anything – **to have his beautiful lover safe in his arms once more. Protected. **Well.**_

_A hand touched him on the arm, and Kaiba stared at Bakura, blinking back tears he hadn't even realised were there. _

"_**What?"**_

_Bakura's voice was soft, the thief gently removing his hand. "…Can I stand here with you?" _

_Kaiba couldn't care anymore. All his attentions were lost on Yami._

"…_Do what you will."_

_Yami was lost amidst a tangle of wires and machines, caught in a spider's web of modern technology._

_That was wrong._

_The only technology Yami loved was Kaiba's, and so he should only be caught in such. _

_Not trussed up in alien technology waiting to-_

_**Die.**_

_Breath caught in Kaiba's throat, hands clenching at the unbidden thought. No, Yami **couldn't-**_

_He **loved **him!_

_Yami was beautiful, and kind and wonderful, and the pharaoh **smiled **at him. He was one of the few rare creatures under the sun who dared to treat Kaiba as a human, and one of the extreme few who were allowed to do as such. Yami had mellowed Kaiba's heart, and Kaiba loved him without reason. _

_Who needed reason, where the King of Games was concerned? _

_He wanted to marry him…. _

_He couldn't bear the thought of their future being anything otherwise. Hadn't time toyed with their hearts long enough?!_

"_No…"_

_The heart monitor stopped.

* * *

_

"Onii-sama…"

A rustle of cloth, the wind shifting as Mokuba flung himself on his brother, burying his face in the soft wool of Seto's black jumper, tears suddenly pouring down his cheeks.

Darkly shadowed eyes watched him silently for a few moments, before strong arms wrapped around Mokuba. Holding him.

"Otouto-kun."

Mokuba was incapable of words.

Kaiba was incapable of feeling warm again.

_Cry me an ocean until I feel no more…_

The wind picked up, leaves dancing around the two brothers.

Blue eyes closed, pain-filled depths hidden away from the world, nature crooning a soft song to aching hearts.

_Sing me a lullaby to sing me safe home…_

The breeze was almost playful, blowing strands of brown hair across Kaiba's face.

"_Catch me if you can?"_

_Yami batted the surprised CEO on the nose, up and running before his boyfriend could gather his scattered wits._

"…_What…?"_

"_Seto!" Yami stood a good distance away, laughing at the bemused look on the brunette's face. "Catch me if you can!"_

A memory, now nothing more.

"_Catch me if you can!"_

His soul hurt.

'_Yami…I **can't.'**_

He couldn't catch up.

* * *

"_I think he **likes **you…"

* * *

_

The silence was deep and dark and all-encompassing, and the shadows that cloaked the sky kept the world in perpetual limbo – eternal night.

Yami had not moved.

The former pharaoh could have been hewn from stone, his only movement that caused by the wind as it tugged at his clothes and hair, the breeze vainly trying to coax a reaction from a face set in marble. Ruby eyes were shadowed, impossible to make out and see.

Bakura sighed, reaching out with one hand and caressing the other's cheek lightly. "I'm sorry."

Golden bangs tickled his skin, the breeze moving the glowing strands. Chilled skin remained impassive, Yami's cheek ice cold to the touch and cursed never to warm.

"_Yami."_

Not a word. Not a sound, the once-vibrant King of Games utterly silent.

Emotionless.

* * *

"_A mask upon a mask…" Slender fingers traced the outline of his face, soft pads grazing his lips slightly before dropping away, "a conundrum."

* * *

_

Seto Kaiba hated death.

He hated loss and suffering, and he hated the pain that he felt when someone he loved dearly was torn brutally away from him. Death had taken his life from him, over and over again. Death had taken his mother. Death had taken his father. Death had left Mokuba and him orphans, thrown on the mercy of the world.

Death had taken Yami.

Beautiful, sweet, _feisty _Yami. Seto's multicoloured whirl of madness that he'd fallen deeply, irrevocably in love with. Who _didn't _love the ex-pharaoh? He was smart and charismatic, both utterly charming and sexy as hell when he smirked his special smirk. Stubborn enough to pose a challenge and worthy enough a prize to win, Kaiba had been over the moon when Yami had started dating him, even more so when the bright youth had agreed to move in with him.

And then, earlier that year, barely a few days before Midsummer, death had stolen Yami away.

"_Good morning…" _

_Seto snorted. "Those words should never been in the same **paragraph **never **mind **the same sentence."_

"_Just because you-mm…"_

_Yami's words were cut short, mouth covered by Kaiba's in a hard kiss. They broke for air, breathless._

"_Mmm…" Lashes flickered open, Yami's lips still curved in a smile. "What was **that **for, Seto Kaiba?"_

"_I felt like it." Kaiba's expression was languid._

"_How utterly selfish of you." Ruby eyes gleamed with amusement. "What if I didn't want that kiss?"_

_His lover smirked, pulling him closer again. "Then, please, permit me to take my gift back…"_

"_Nooo…." Laughing, Yami wriggled out the brunette's grasp, patting the other lightly on the cheek. "I'm going out, remember?"_

It had been a perfectly usual day, normal in all regards, Kaiba partway through a week off he'd agreed to after much coaxing on his lover's and brother's behalves. Mokuba was off out to a friend's and Yami was going out with _his _friends; Kaiba was staying at home trying to catch up on a few documents he'd fallen behind on. Yami had kissed him goodbye as normal, and then he had been gone.

A lot had happened that day, and he saw only the beginning and the end of it.

* * *

_Dark, rich earth was obvious to all, a few averting their heads, crystal tears falling from eyes unable to see the gaping maw that was slowly devouring the white casket being lowered into it. A few stray roses, becoming unattached from perfect wreaths laid upon the case fluttered downwards into the darkness, the blood-red of their petals looking all too much like blood on freshly fallen snow.

* * *

_

_The fifth and final rose he'd kept close to his heart, constantly pricked by the sharp barbs upon its stem._

_On the third day he buried it.

* * *

_

"Yami…_please." _A small note of worry crept into Bakura's voice, fear at the lack of reaction from Yami.

Dulled eyes looked his way, a child's lost gaze in a spirit ancient as days. "…Why do I even bother…?"

"Because you love him." Bakura sighed inwardly, moving around to cup the other's face with his hands. "You'll always love him."

"Then tell me how to stop loving." Yami's voice was low. "Tell me how to tear my heart out of my chest just to rid myself of the love I feel."

"Oh Yami…" Bakura couldn't stand the pain on the other's face. "You _never _stop loving. However much you are scorned, hated, separated by the gods themselves…no power under the sun can _make _you stop loving someone."

"Then how-?"

"You must trust." The former thief's words were simple. "You must trust that one day you will meet again, and the love you have will grow stronger. Hearts cross many times over millennia; Atemu; yours and Seto's are surely destined to cross many, many more before Time is done. No parting is forever, and one day even forever will fade, and you will be with him forevermore."

* * *

_A brightly coloured box was dangled in front of his face. Slightly apprehensive Yami took it, though not before shooting a curious look at his lover from under his lashes. Kaiba merely smiled his smile and leant his head on the other's shoulder, warm breath tickling the former pharaoh's skin and sending his golden bangs dancing. _

_Ribbons were quickly undone, and paper carefully removed – exposing a small, velvet box. Inside lay a necklace – a platinum cartouche hung on a delicate chain. In some respects it looked a lot like the one Tea had first given Yami when he had first been searching for his true name – but on closer inspection it was so, so different. True, 'Atemu' was inscribed upon the metal in fine hieroglyphics, but on turning the platinum around the name 'Seth' too was revealed, carved with the same care in the same tongue. Both were intertwined by the etching of a rope tied in a loop – the symbol of forevermore.

* * *

_

The pain he'd felt in his chest had been Seto's first clue.

It had felt as through someone was wrenching his heart out from his chest in front of his very eyes, squeezing his lungs up and tearing them to bloody shreds with a blunt knife. He had been unable to think, unable to _breathe-_

But the pain had been more than just physical.

Kaiba's soul had been in torment, feeling agony after eternal agony as he wept internally as invisible knives dug into his very being.

Mokuba had arrived and the pain had faded to a dull, glassy roar, a deep ache that started somewhere inside of him and refused to stop. And the phone had rang, and a distraught Yugi was calling him to the hospital, and the end of the dream he'd lived in for seven months.

"_Seto-" The ruby-eyed spirit tilted his head slightly, locking gazes with his boyfriend. "Seto Kaiba…I love you."_

Yami had been out with his friends. He'd left, heading home – apparently Bakura had followed him part of the way. The two former spirits had spoken, and a distracted Yami had walked off and died.

_Yami lay under the tree, lithe body languidly sprawled out on a carpet of rose-coloured petals. The former pharaoh seemed to be sleeping, the shade offered to him by cherry blossoms protecting him from the sun's harsh glare. A fallen book lying beside the dormant spirit suggested Yami's reason for being outside in the first place._

Yami had been distracted. The driver of the car who had hit him had been distracted. The patrons of the café whose front window was shattered when Yami was flung through were distracted. The glass had been sharp.

And the blood had been everywhere.

* * *

"_It was an accident, Mokie." Amethyst eyes, once bright with laughter, were dim. "It was a horrible accident." A deep, steadying breath. "That's all."

* * *

_

"You speak as if you know…" Yami's voice was soft. "You speak as though you have seen what waits those who pass the final gateway – yet you have not. No living man has. How can you say such things?"

_A soft smile, brown eyes tinged with more than a hint of jealousy. "He still loves you, you know."_

"I have faith."

* * *

"_Don't you **already** realise what you've done? People die for a reason!"_

"…_There is no reason in madness."

* * *

_

"Nii-san." Hands fisted themselves in Kaiba's jumper, tears eventually slowing and stopping. "Seto, were you out here all night?"

"Yes."

"_Why?" _Mokuba's voice was quiet. "What possible good did it do?"

Blue eyes regarded the youth silently for a few moments.

"…It helped me clear up some things."

"_**Mery-i**…you know I love you, don't you?"_

"_And I you more." Seto's words were soft. "I always have. But Yami, this…am I dreaming?"_

"_If you are dreaming, I am dreaming too…"_

It had helped him clear up _many _things.

"…_You're wearing your necklace?"_

_Another nod. "I've never taken it off. I wore it on the day of the funeral…"_

_Kaiba inhaled sharply, the sound loud against Yami's ear. "Don't – Yami, **never **– don't speak to me of that. Talk of **anything** but that."_

Death was hard to speak of, and Yami was a subject precious to his heart. He could speak to no-one of either, but he could feel the emotions attributed to them, share them with another.

And it had been good to have Yami in his arms again, even if it had reopened his heart to pain. And even if it had been for such a short, short while…

"_He has people who love him. If **you **love him, let him go."_

Yami had released him, condemning himself to loneliness, freeing Kaiba to return to life and Mokuba. Because Yami loved him. And Kaiba knew it then for certain, beyond all doubt, and his heart was set at rest because Yami had let him go. To grieve, to grow, and to heal.

"_Seto Kaiba…I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

And no power in existence could take that from him.

* * *

"_So you **followed **me?" _

"_That's about it, yeah."_

_Yami frowned. "Just…**why, **exactly? Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?" _

_Bakura stared at him. "Pharaoh, you're meant to be **smart. **Why bother asking that?"_

"_Forgive me for assuming you had some sort of **life…" **Yami turned away, already beginning to walk off, "goodbye, Bakura."

* * *

_

"I want to go."

"What?" Bakura doubted his own hearing, had Yami just-?

"I want to go." Yami's words were firmer this time, a strange determination taking hold of crimson eyes and lighting them with fire. "There is nothing for me here."

"That's…_great…" _Bakura blinked, taken aback.

_So why did it suddenly hurt?_

Yami had _always _just…_been _there. Bakura had seen the accident, he'd phoned the ambulance after rushing to the café, he'd called Yugi-tachi, he and Kaiba had watched the instant Yami's spirit fled the living and crossed the border to death. Bakura had been the only one who had been able to cross that border after him, and comfort the grieving soul waiting there. The grieving soul who obstinately refused to move on.

And so Bakura had been able to alleviate his guilt of loving Yami by being there to guide him, and he'd been able to stave off the pain of loss because – technically – he hadn't lost anyone. Not completely. He could still _see _the one he loved. Unlike Kaiba.

'_And now Yami wants to move on…'_

Bakura never actually thought - the pharaoh had always ignored him before! Why was he suddenly listening _now?_

Yami had set out to reunite himself with Seto the night before, and succeeded. Bakura had arrived, and reminded them of reality. Kaiba had left.

Somewhere, unseen by Bakura, Yami had found some semblance of peace.

_Because only a soul at rest can ever truly move on…

* * *

_

_You in angel's watch are keeping_

The two brothers knelt in front of the gravestone, the elder's hands tracing words so well-memorised they were inscribed on his heart and mind.

_And though for now you've said goodbye_

"Nii-san?" Mokuba chanced a question, breaking the still.

"Yes Mokuba?" Kaiba looked at his little brother.

"Seto…do you think…" the black-haired youth bit his lip, "do you think Yami is happy where he is?"

A few seconds silence, the soft sounds of morning birdsong breaking the air.

Kaiba smiled. "I am sure Yami will find happiness. He deserves it more so than any of us."

_Locked in dreams, forever sleeping_

"I miss him…"

"We all do."

_Rocked to sleep by lullaby

* * *

_

_Idle patterns were drawn down one arm, feather-light brushes tickling the golden skin. "You know…the origins of mask and costume-wearing lie in the old folklore that on the night of All Hallow's, evil spirits and faeries roam." _

"_Oh?" Yami fought to keep his expression neutral; the other's touch was sending tingles of pleasure racing throughout his entire body._

"_Yes, **oh**." A shadowy smile was shot his way, dark eyes regarding him with an almost feline amusement. "Samhain is the night when the worlds **bleed** into one another, and the borders between life and death simply fall away. Costumes were worn to deceive the spirits, as it was thought the fey creatures would 'steal' a beautiful mortal they desired, and call them to death before their time…" A pregnant pause. "Make sure your costume's a good one this year, Yami."_

"_And why's that?" The Egyptian spirit found himself unable to move, unable to **think** clearly with his gaze locked by impossibly dark, **dark** blue. _

_Warm breath against his ear, the sudden heat sending shivers down his spine. "…I'm not **quite** willing to relinquish you to the faeries yet...though I guess I could always just steal you **first**…"

* * *

_

_And when at last you finally wake_

"Bakura…" This time it was Yami who was soothing, taking in the stricken expression on his companion's face. "You don't understand me, do you?"

The albino shook his head, white bangs spilling about his face. "I never have."

_Then at last our time will come_

"You've helped me so much here, even though I've been awful-"

"_Why are you **going?**" _The words burst out of Bakura before he could stop them, sudden anger consuming his heart. "Aren't you _in **love **_anymore?!"

A sad smile. "I'll forever be in love."

_In the east the dawn shall break_

"Then why must you go?" Bakura was pleading, suddenly full of shame at himself. He'd spent so long coaxing the pharaoh to leave he never thought it would ever actually happen – and now it _was _happening all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around Yami and refuse to let the bright youth out of his sight.

Yami understood him. The pain, the rage, the grief…hadn't he suffered it all a thousand times over while trapped in his own personal limbo? The _longing… _

"Kaiba let me go, Bakura." Tanned hands twined themselves with pale ones. "And I let him go in return. And I should let you go."

"_Me? _But-"

"Bakura, you return here again and again and again." Crimson eyes were soft. "I'm dead. You insisted I learnt to accept the fact and I _have. _Now it's your turn."

A choked noise. "Yami-"

"I love Seto, Bakura. I fell in love with him long, long ago, and I'll love him far, far into the future. I spoke to him last night, on the eve of All Hallows, and I know he will love me for far longer than that in return. As you said yourself, no parting is forever, however bittersweet some may be."

Bakura swallowed, but nodded. "Then have my blessing, though you have no need of it, and go."

_And we will be forever home._

In a land of shadows light suddenly rose, hands dropping away from each other as Bakura fell back from Yami. The pharaoh shone, golden, form blurring as he slowly began to fade.

"Yami…" Bakura watched as the one he loved began to disappear from him. He had to say-

One slender finger was pressed against his lips, luminescent skin soft to touch.

Yami's expression was gentle. _"I know."_

And he was gone.

* * *

It was a bright morning, and the birds were just beginning to properly break out into song in celebration of it being such. Autumn was nearing its inevitable end, and the chill of winter was just beginning to set in, brittle leaves snapping underfoot with the crunching of the frost-laced grass. 

It was the first of November that day, the feast of All Saints – the sacred day in veneration of the saints and martyrs of old who had died for their beliefs. It had been Halloween the night before, and people throughout the world had dragged out costumes and taken children to trick o' treat around the neighbourhood. They had thrown outlandish parties, worn clothes they'd never dare to on any other day, and eaten too many sweets.

In the grounds of a mansion far off in Japan two brothers sat in front of a white gravestone beside a lake, the tree above them shedding leaves for the breeze to deposit in their hair. It was a pretty scene, and memories of the year before surrounded the place with quiet love.

Slowly, the eldest of the two brothers stood, the youngest quickly scrambling up so as not to be left behind. A soft smile from the eldest showed amusement, and the youngest blushed in reply. Such was their bond.

Blue eyes were soft as they read the marker one last time, and then the eldest turned away, a quiet '_c'mon' _calling his younger brother after him. The two headed away from the lake, through the trees, back to their family home and breakfast. There would be other days, there would always be the same love, and there would forevermore be the marker beneath the tree.

Behind them, simple words glittered in the morning sun.

_Yami Mouto_

_Requiescat Im Pace_

**Finis._

* * *

_ **

**Shadow: **Personally, I think this has got to be my favourite ever update I've ever updated. Or…at least the beginning is. It fell to mush somewhat near the end. Originally, Yami was going to just die in a car crash, plain and simple. Then I started looking around f f. net, and I discovered nigh _everyone _dies in a car crash. Hence much panic as I attempted to find some other way for him to die. (sweatdrops) I ended up compromising… Oh, I'm _so _probably gonna end up doing a re-write.

Okay…I want you people to be honest. How many of you did I actually _surprise_ with the ending? Or at least cause to reach for a tissue? Humour me, please.

Thank you all for reading this far. Even if you don't review, I'm flattered you read up to the end. Since you got here, one last review for the authoress? Tell her how good/bad/awful the fanfic was and how she should never write any more again. (smiles) Now I'm gonna go wander off and attempt to catch up on the _other _fanfics and coursework I _should've_ been doing instead of writing this…

Thank you all!


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